


A Clear Renewal

by MissDragonish



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant-ish until the end of season 1, Canon Rewrite, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, SI-OC, Season/Series 01, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissDragonish/pseuds/MissDragonish
Summary: My story should’ve stopped with my death, but I got myself reborn in my best friend’s favorite show. My name is Claire Forbes, and I wasn’t supposed to be there.But I will be damned if I don’t do everything in my power to protect my family.(OC-Insert as Caroline's fraternal twin sister.)
Comments: 73
Kudos: 192





	1. The Story of How I Died.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : I own nothing besides my OC, and the idea of this story. Everything related to The Vampire Diaries (names, places…) is the property of L.J. Smith and The CW.

Like everyone else, I was born after my mother met my father. And, like many others, they didn't want me, I guess, because when I was less than one week old, I was dropped in front of a catholic orphanage in the center of Seattle.

I _hated_ it. The city, orphanage, priests, nuns, kids. I hated it all. I hated it for eighteen years. And then, I left.

I always worked hard at school, in the hope to get a scholarship in a college as far from Seattle as possible. I ended up signing for the North Carolina University of Charlotte.

That's where I met my roommate, Susan _'but call me Ann really, my grandma Susan was a bitch'_ Andrews. She was my first friend and the best of them all. We shared a Harry Potter obsession and a hatred for coffee.

Other than that, we were very different. Like, _opposites_ different. She was the sun, I was the moon. She was beautiful, kind, smart, generous…

And she was crazy. God, she made me do some things...

Like walking through a cemetery in the middle of the night. _"Come on, don't you feel like the Winchester brothers? You're the tallest so, of course, you're Sam. I'm the hottest, so I'll be Dean."_ She had said, the first time she made me do it. Because there was more than one time. _Of course_.

When, four years after our meeting, I got in her car, I hadn't thought it would be the last time I saw her alive.

I would have done something, stopped us before we got into that car. Maybe I would have taken the wheel in her place. For sure, I wouldn't have let her touch the radio that much. Or something, _anything_.

But we got in that car, and she took the wheel. I was searching for something to eat in the glove box, laughing as Ann was changing the music every two seconds. I didn't see the truck coming, neither did she.

For one whole minute, my world was twirling with light and shattered glass and red- no, blood, it was blood.

And then, the twirling stopped. But not the blood and the pain. And the noise. God, the noise. I wanted to cry and to scream, but my eyesight was blurred and my voice wasn't responding. Or maybe I screamed, I don't know. I lost consciousness too, maybe.

When I was able to think straight again, Ann was the only thing I could think of. The car was lying on its side, my side was on the floor, and Ann’s was up. When I turned my eyes and saw her, I knew she was dead. It doesn't mean I believed it. I screamed her name, I screamed until I lost my breath, untangling my seatbelt in the process, and crawled over to her body.

At the time, a voice in my head reminded me to not move a victim's body after a trauma. I was cautious to not move Ann too much. The voice added that I was a victim experiencing a trauma, too. I didn't listen, this time.

I lost consciousness after I took her wrist, and didn't find a pulse.

When I woke up, I was on a stretcher surrounded by two paramedics. And there was another stretcher, but the paramedics there were closing a big, black bag. I screamed Ann's name, fighting against the paramedic who tried to make me breathe into a mask. The other man grabbed my hands while the first one finally put the mask on my face, whispering that he was sorry.

This is the story of how I died.

I don't know much after that, I don't know when or where I died, exactly. That could have been in the ambulance, or the hospital, anywhere after I realized that Ann was dead.

But unlike Ann, I didn't get to stay dead.

Well, _I_ was dead, but now _I_ was alive. That didn't make any sense, I know.

For a long time, nothing made sense to me, too. I thought that I was in a hospital, wavering between unconsciousness and a short time of blurry consciousness. And, well, in a way, I was right.

I finally got to stay conscious for long periods. The world wasn't as blurry anymore and I finally was able to see my hands again. My _tiny, teeny hands_.

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to understand what was happening, and when I did, I cried. _Hard_. Because, yeah. I hated my first time as a baby, why would I like the second?

In hindsight, I now know that I was wrong. My second childhood was way better than the first.

I had a _family_.

A mother, a father, and a twin sister.

With time, I slowly mourned my previous life, decided to live this life fully, without thinking too much about the first one. Even if I couldn't bring myself to erase Ann from my memories, she will always have a place in my heart.

My life was turned upside down again when I was eight years old, and mom took us, me and my sister, in the woods by our Lake’s cabin to teach us how to use a bicycle without the training wheels.

Because I had seen that before.

I had already seen Liz Forbes let off of Caroline Forbes' bicycle with a proud smile.

On a screen.

  
While _she was dying_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I'm sorry if there are any errors, English is not my first language but I'm in search of a beta.
> 
> This is the SI-OC longfic I plan to write for a long time ago, I have pretty much all the big events for the first season planned out and I just have to write them down.
> 
> I don't have the pairings yet (even if, knowing me, there is a 99% chance for Klaroline). I'm open to the suggestion, but I'm don't guarantee for it to happen.
> 
> I'm rewatching the show as I write this story, but I will not make a 1 chapter-1 episode sort of story, some events will pass without being written because it's an internal pov and Claire is not all-knowing.
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you loved it, don't hesitate to tell me what you thought!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish.
> 
> Edit 03/14/20: Beta'ed by WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet). Thank You, you're a lifesaver!


	2. Claire Forbes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I post the second chapter too because the first is very short. BTW, it's not important to the story but I kind of picture Claire like Kathryn Newton (Claire Novak in Supernatural), it's her in the cover of the story (link in the chapter).
> 
> Edit 03/15/20: Beta'ed by WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet). Thank You, again, you save me from all those errors!

**[ Link to the cover. ](https://miss-dragonish.tumblr.com/post/612431304601010176/my-story-shouldve-stopped-with-my-death-but-i) **

* * *

**_2000._ **

I stared at the blank page of my notebook, ready to fill it with as much information as I had.

After almost a week of psychological battle with myself, I finally reached the dooming conclusion that, yes, I was reborn in Ann's favorite show. As Claire Forbes, Caroline Forbes' fraternal twin sister. In the middle of a world probably — _and I would stick to that little hope until I was proven wrong_ — filled with vampires. And werewolves, witches, doppelgängers, and other lovely creatures.

And my priority number one was to protect my family. Hence the notebook. I needed to write down everything I could remember from the show, in the hope to prevent it.

I started with the first season. Or what I could remember, at least. It was the one I had fewer memories about; Ann was more Originals-Family-oriented in her fangirling. But she was obsessed with both shows. 

One time, she made us go all the way to New Orleans, only because she wanted to watch the first episode of the new season of _'The Originals'_ , there. Yes, _that much_.

If I was honest, now I regretted listening to her rambling with only half of my attention…

* * *

  
  


**‘#1. Damon tries to open a tomb under some church to release Katherine, but she is not in there, never has been.’**

  
  


_"Wait. Did this guy just hypnotize that poor girl into being his sex toy/girlfriend just to get back that ugly necklace?" I asked, my concentration on the screen when it should have been on the books in front of me._

_Ann turned on the couch to face me, happy that I manifested some interest in her TV show. Show that she was watching for the millionth times, now._

_"This is called compulsion, actually. And, yes, Damon is still a dick right now. The poor guy thinks that Katherine —the woman he loves— is trapped in a tomb under some ruins, a church I think, or something. Anyway, he needs that amulet to free her. But..." Ann moved her hand excitedly, and I smiled fondly in front of her energy. "Because she is Katerina Petrova, of course, she's not in there. Katherine is a bitch. But, like, not Grandma Susan kind of bitch, more like Aunt Sally kind of bitch: you kind of hate her but, without her, you know that the family dinner will be way duller. Less Dramas. And, with Katherine, the 'D' in dramas is gigantic'."_

**#2. Katherine turned Caroline after her car accident, just before some high school carnival. The accident was probably caused by Tyler Lockwood.**

_"Wait, I didn't even realize that she was a vampire. Wasn't she compelled by Damon? Vampires can compel other vampires?" I asked curiously, as Caroline launched herself at a guy's throat with her teeth out on the screen._

_"Nah, they can't... Well, an Original can, but that’s not the subject. Caroline just turned. She had a car crash when Tyler was affected by Jonathan Gilbert's anti-vampire device. Elena asked Damon to give her his blood because she wasn't going to make it. And Katherine killed her when she still had the blood in her system." She looked thoughtful, her eyes scanning the screen as Bonnie tried to set her blonde friend on fire. "But I think that she is great as a vampire. That suits her, and she seems happier since her turning."_

**#3. Mikael Mikaelson's grave: Pickett Mausoleum, Charlotte, North Carolina.**

_"Remind me, again, why we're scouting a cemetery at midnight?" I did nothing to hide the exasperated fondness in my voice._

_Her grin just widened, and she curled her arm around mine, the other one extending in front of her with her flashlight. "Come on, don't you feel like the Winchester brothers? You're the tallest so, of course, you're Sam. I'm the hottest, I'll be Dean."_

_"Don't bring another of your bloody TV shows into this. Seriously Ann, even if you want to search a cemetery, for God knows what, why in the middle of the night ?"_

_"Well, you don't see the Winchesters or Buffy Summers in a cemetery in the middle of the day!"_

_"Ann, for one: you have to understand that they are fucking fictional characters. And two: one is hunting vampires and the others dig graves to burn the remains of dead people. That's pretty illegal and probably why they go at night."_

_"Oh... Yeah, you made a point there. But I like the vibe anyway. Keep your eyes open girl!"_

_"I don't even remember what I'm looking for... Or why we're looking for it."_

_"We're looking for Mikael's tomb! Remember what I told you about yesterday? In the show, he is desiccated and hidden in the Pickett Mausoleum, in a cemetery of Charlotte. We're in Charlotte, let's see if we can find a Pickett Mausoleum !"_

_"That was probably just some decors. I don't think they used a Mausoleum from a real Pickett family. Wait..." I stared at her with narrowed eyes. "You didn't choose your college only to be in Charlotte, did you?"_

_She looked at me with big, innocent brown eyes. "What? No, of course not, you know me..." I knew her for less than six months, but I also knew that she was more than capable of it. I raised an eyebrow expectantly._

_She just turned her attention toward the tombs and mausoleums, mumbling. "It was that or Duke, but Isobel was a bitch." She seemed to think for a second before adding. "And Virginia was a no-go, It's way too boring."_

**#4. The Curse. The Moonstone. Jenna's death. Doppelgänger sacrifice. John's death.**

_I was half-lying across an armchair in the living room while Ann and Frank, her boyfriend, were cuddled on the couch. Ann went through Netflix to choose what we were watching tonight._

_"You know what? I'm feeling like watching Klaus breaking his curse. He and Elijah are so hot." Ann suddenly said as she finally chose._

_"Shouldn't you be more preoccupied with your girlfriend, Frank?" I asked teasingly._

_"Naah, she loves me," he said, kissing her, and she kissed him back almost instantly._

_"Of course I do, honey. But the Mikaelsons are hot, there's no denying that." She then turned toward me, squeezing her eyes. "You remember everything you have to know before we watch that, don't you?"_

_"Yeah, yeah, no worries here. Moonstone, Lockwood, werewolves, doppelgängers, and all that."_

_She looked at me for one more second, almost menacingly. "Good."_

**#5. Augustine. Enzo. Whitmore.**

_"My poor baby! Look at what they are doing to my baby !" I looked at the screen, trying to ignore Ann's excessive movements._

_My eyes widened when I saw a dark-haired man chained at a medical table while another one was... I don't really know what he was doing... Torture? Surgery? "What's that shit? Who's that guy?"_

_"It's Enzo, he is my new baby. He was held prisoner for seventy years or so by a fucking secret organization, Augustine. They hide their labs in the university Elena goes to, Whitmore." She moved to the left on the couch to let me sit. "Real bitches those ones, let me tell you."_

**#6. Silas is very bad. The Cure (one dose only).**

_"God, she is such a bitch!" Was the first thing I heard when I entered our apartment with my arms full of groceries. "How dare she..." She paused mid-sentence when she saw me, standing to help me._

_"Go ahead, Ann, talk as much as you want," I said, an indulgent smile on my lips, ready to listen to her rant about how much of a bitch Elena was. That was something of an occurrence since she and her brother killed Kol. Ann cried a lot when Kol died._

_"But he told her! Kol told her all about Silas, one hell of a bitch that guy, but did she listen?" She threw her hands over her head, my eyes glued to the flour bag in them. "No, she didn't! And now, Kol is dead. And Jeremy was dead, but Bonnie died to bring him back. Meaning she is dead! And that bitch dares to give... God, she forced the cure in Katherine's throat!"_

_I frowned, not sure to understand. "But I thought she wanted to take the cure... Isn't that what it was all about?"_

_"My point!" She nodded at my words. "All that whining when she knew there was only one dose, but she doesn't even take it! And now Silas is here, that was just a freaking waste of time! When I think that Kol is dead for that!"_

**#7. Wickery Bridge made of White Oak. The sign. The bloodline bonds.**

_"Arrggh!" I heard Ann scream from her room and rushed to her room, worried. She looked up from her screen when I pushed her door open. "Oh… I'm sorry, I worried you? It's just TVD's most recent episode…"_

_"Not a problem." I looked at her eyes, red and watering, she was way too invested in those shows. "Why don't you tell me what brings you to such a state of misery?"_

_"Elena!" She spits almost instantly. "They wanted to protect her, again, and they tried to kill Klaus by killing Finn because they're all linked. You know about Wickery Bridge? It's made of White Oak —the only thing that can kill an Original, you know— and Rebekah burned it, but she forgot the sign! And Damon found it, and they used it. And, now, Finn is dead! He just found Sage, the love of his life, and they killed him!_

_“But they weren't linked anymore, so Finn is the only one who died. And you know what?!" She looked at me with big eyes, her hands moving in front of her. "They are fucking lucky about that! Because when an Original died, so did his —or her— bloodline. Meaning all the fucking vampires they created. And the Salvatores don’t know who they're from!" She then turned to look at her laptop's screen, paused on an image of Elena, and stuck out her tongue at her. "Take that, Liar!"_

**#8. Vervain against vampires. Don't invite anyone into your house verbally.**

_"She's so wrong. She thinks that keeping someone in the dark will protect them but, well look at the fact..."_

_"Who thinks that?" I asked, putting back the box of herbal tea I was reading in its place._

_"Elena," she said, in an 'it's obvious!' manner, showing me the box of vervain tea she was holding. “She didn't say to Jenna vampires were real, and could compel you if you don’t drink or wear vervain. And, guess who was compelled by Katherine to stab herself?"_

_"Huh, Jenna?" I answered-asked, not sure if she wanted an answer._

_"Ding-ding! We have a winner! And that doesn't convince her to talk! You know how a vampire can't come in if you don't tell them verbally?" I nodded, looking between one apple-cinnamon tea and one strawberry-rhubarb. "Well, Jenna doesn't! And guess who invited an Original vampire in? One who could have killed her without even scrambling his suit?"_

_"Jenna," I answered, putting both tea's boxes in my cart, because why not._

_"Bingo! I mean… Come on, she, like, literally killed Jenna by keeping her in the dark, and now, she wants to do it again with Jeremy!"_

**Her death. Cancer.**

_"I thought they couldn't make me cry more than when Alaric chose death back in season three but maaaan." Ann was clenching her mug of hot chocolate against her chest. "Liz's death was so saaad. Cancer! Could you imagine that? After all she— All they had gotten through in this bloody supernatural town, she died from the most ordinary thing possible. That's... That's oddly suited..."_

* * *

  
  


I stared at the page as the memories of Ann talking about Liz's — _my mother's_ — death faded-away. It took me some time to finally close the notebook, I was not going to remember anything else right now, and that's when I noticed that I was crying.

I grabbed the notebook forcefully with my tiny-eight-years-old hands, almost hurting myself in the process. I _couldn't_ let my family be hurt. I needed to protect them.

That day, the summer of my eighth year as Claire Forbes, I swore to protect my family. As much as I could, be it against supernatural beings or mundane disease.

* * *

  
  
  


**_2008._ **

"You can come with me, you know." I looked at Caroline with concern. "Or I can postpone the departure a little."

She looked at me from above the suitcase she was inspecting on my bed. "What ?!" She sighed when she noticed my concern. "You're not my mother, Claire, you're my twin sister."

"Older twin sister." I corrected, almost mechanically, with a little laugh.

She just rolled her eyes. "This is not your fault if our parents announced their divorce the day before your trip." She grabbed one of the tops in my closet with a little too much force. "The trip that you've been organizing for two years now. You don't have to sacrifice yourself for me, Claire. And I'm not going to miss the Tree Lighting Ceremony, Elena and Bonnie would kill me."

I laughed at her antics, but I knew she was only putting on a facade. I would have canceled my trip if I didn't know how important it was for the future well-being of my loved ones. I stared at Caroline until she turned her attention to me. "I will be back before Christmas, I promise, but I want you to call me every day. And if you need me to come back, or if anything happens. Understood?"

"I promise," she hugged me and I returned it with force.

* * *

The next day, it took me a little over five hours to reach my destination. I drove through the city, taking into my surroundings with nostalgia. I hadn't been in Charlotte for over sixteen years.

Not before long, I was pulling my car into a motel's parking and got out to rent a room. 

Twenty minutes later, I entered my room with my suitcase and my sports bag.

I was tired of the road but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep now. I was buzzing from impatience. That was it. I was in Charlotte, I was finally going to be able to make something for my family security.

Closing the door, I put my stuff on the bed and opened my bag first, quickly taking out the electrical wood saw I stole from my dad's tools. He wouldn't be missing it, he never used it. Then, I opened my suitcase, looking at the piece of wood I had put there hastily after I had stolen it.

The Wickery Bridge sign.

  
  


* * *

  
  


I was in town for six days now and had visited twenty-eight cemeteries before I finally found it.

The Pickett Mausoleum.

I found it that morning—because I'm not as dumb as Ann and I'll not be scouting cemeteries at night. Not if I didn’t need to.

Unfortunately, for what I had in mind, I needed to scout a cemetery at night. This was why I was here, at 10 pm, in front of the Pickett Mausoleum armed with a sports bag full of tools and ready to do something slightly illegal. And macabre, too.

Looking around me one last time, I stepped into the creepy place. Like in my blurred memory of the show, there was only one big tomb in the middle of the mausoleum. The big stone seemed heavy, I was going to have so much work. Sighing, I let my bag on the floor and opened it to take out my crowbar. Let's begin.

Honestly, that took me so much more time than I liked, but I finally managed to open the tomb enough by 2 am.

Mikael was... creepy. It was the only word in my mouth today, but I don't see any other ones to describe it. Seeing him here, gray and chained, was weird. That made me realize, **_really_** realize, that I wasn't crazy. Vampires were real. I **_was_** in _'The Vampire Diaries'_ , Ann's favorite TV show.

Maybe I was going to regret that later, I don't know. I was more than probably seriously fucking the timeline here, changing some big events. But I couldn't bring myself to care.

Mikael was the only thing that Niklaus Mikaelson feared, along with his siblings leaving him. And if I wanted to be on his good side, I didn't see anything better than killing his father. I screamed when he suddenly opened his eyes. 

"Okay, no! This, this is creepy! Like fucking creepy! You don't open your eyes when you look like you're dead !" His— **_creepy!_ **—eyes moved to look at me. "Oh, God. What am I even doing..?"

I kneel to search through my bag and pull out my stake. My White Oak stake. Hiding it in my jacket, I stand beside the tomb again.

"Euh... Hi, Mr. Mikaelson." His eyes widened a little, and he looked at me curiously. "I... was wondering, would you mind telling me where you have hidden your White Oak stake ?" His eyes narrowed and my heart missed a beat at the anger in his gaze. "Yeah. I suspected as much. No big deal, I was asking for a friend, you know."

I took out my stake and my smartphone— _I_ **_couldn’t_ **_wait until the phones were more developed, really._

"Look, your children will probably not believe me if I don't give them proof of your death. Nothing personal. Well... you're pretty fucked as a father, I don't love people who try to kill their kids for a millennium. Like, literally." 

I took a picture first, before switching to video and pressing the button to record. 

"So, this is white oak," I said, putting my stake in front of the camera and Mikael's eyesight. I could see disbelief and a little panic fill his eyes. "And you're an Original so... you know what I mean. So... bye, I guess."

Paying attention to always keep Mikael in the video, I placed my stake between the chains on Mikael's chest, above his heart. "Damn. That's so fucking **_creepy_** ," I said with a shudder, then I pushed.

Mikael's eyes lit up with panic before his body literally lit up with fire.

"Oh, God."

I did it.

For the best or the worst, it was too late to back off now.


	3. Let's plot, okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet), who beta'ed this chapter in no time, I'm able to post it today! You're amazing, thank you!
> 
> I hope you will love it!

The next day found me, exhausted, walking through Duke University Department of Anthropology. I was woken up at the beginning of the afternoon by a call from Vanessa Monroe asking me if I could pass by. The need to look at Isobel’s research as soon as possible, and to be back at Mystic Falls by tomorrow, helped in my decision to accept. 

“Hi, I’m looking for Vanessa Monroe, please?” The brown-haired woman behind the desk looked up at me curiously before recognition crossed her eyes. 

“You must be Ann Andrews?” I nodded politely. Honestly, when I had to imagine a fake name, that was the first thing that I thought of. I didn’t really know if Isobel still has contacts here, and the only thing I really remember about Isobel is that she worked with Katherine; the last thing I wanted is for Katherine to know that a Forbes is putting her nose in her business. “I’m Vanessa, nice to meet you.” 

She stood and walked around the desk, making her way toward a door at the end of the corridor. She mentioned for me to follow her with a wave of her hand. “I talked with the professor in charge of the Department, he’s fine with you looking into Pr. Flemming’s research and taking copies with you.” She stressed the word ‘copy’ with little subtlety. “As long as her husband wasn’t against it. I called Mr. Saltzman and he doesn’t have a problem with it. You are free to look into her note here. Also, I made all the copies you’ll need, they’re in this.” She finished by grabbing a flash disk from the desk of what I assumed being Isobel’s office. 

“Thank you,” I took it and slipped it into my pocket. “My paper is about the mystical creatures and their impact on history, and I was wondering if there is anything else about it here...” 

“You can look around if you want, but I think that everything is on the flash disk.”

“Again, thank you, you saved my semester.” 

Vanessa just laughed before heading back to her desk. “I’ll let you look around but, if you need anything, I’ll be at my desk. Just call for me.”

Once she was out of view, I quickly reached the bookshelves, looking for the only thing that I knew was here from my previous life. I found the black book on one of the middle shelves, the word _‘Petrova’_ written in gold on the edge. 

Grabbing the thick plastic folder from my bag, I put the book in it, closed it, and put it back in my bag. I knew that stealing was bad but, it wasn’t like Isobel would miss it, alright. 

Damon was going to take it in one year or two, anyway. I knew it because Ann was constantly whining about it. For her, Damon didn’t use it correctly; it would be of better use with me. 

Being already there, I looked at the papers on the desk for another twenty minutes or so, before heading out. Vanessa was on the phone and just waved her hand at me with a smile. 

I sighed when I pulled my car out of its parking spot, the sooner I was at Mystic Falls, the better. 

* * *

  
  
  


“Okay Claire, spill the beans,” I looked curiously toward Caroline at her words. It was now three days since Christmas and we were at the Lake’s cabin for two or three days, before New Year’s Eve, just her and me. It was my idea. Mostly because I wanted Caroline far from the conflicts at home. And because I wanted to talk to her privately.

“What do you mean, Care?” She raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes clearly questioning if I thought she was stupid.

“I know you, Claire. I believe you when you say that we’re here to take some distance with Mom and Dad, but… It’s not just that, is it? You brought me a coffee at the Grill before we left. You hate coffee, and everything about it.”

“That thing is disgusting,” I said defensively.

“And, the only times you ever buy me coffee, is when you want to tell me something but you’re afraid of my reaction,” she continues as if I hadn’t said anything. “Like when you lost my favorite earrings, or when you broke..”

“Yeah, okay, I get it. You know me…” I sighed and played with the spoon in my pot of ice cream. “It’s true, I want to talk to you about something…” My eyes were solely focused on my cream, I was too afraid to look at her in the eyes. “There’s something I have hidden from you my whole life and…” I stopped myself, not knowing how to continue. 

“I know,” Caroline finally said, making me look up at her with wide eyes. “Obviously, I don’t know what, I’m not psychic, but I always knew there was something you didn’t tell me. I told you, I know you, Claire,” then she smiled. “I’m not mad at you if it's what you’re afraid of. At first, I was worried but I knew you would tell me when you were ready to. If you’re not, don’t force yourself, I can wait.”

I smiled at her, she was my twin sister, I knew she would love me, no matter what. “No, I need to tell you.” There was so much to tell, I didn’t even know how to begin. “I… remember who I was before Claire Forbes.”

She blinked, taken aback by my words, but I continued before she could open her mouth, my eyes back on my ice cream. “I was an orphan raised in an orphanage in Seattle. I never had a real childhood, in fact, my life was boring until I left for college in Charlotte, in North Carolina. That's where I met Ann, she was my first and best friend. I died in a car crash with her four years later.”

“Oh my God, Claire!” Caroline whispered before crossing the distance between us to hug me. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not the worst part…” I said, my head pressed against her shoulder.

Disbelief was manifest in her voice when she talked. “What can possibly be worse than you remembering how you _died_?” 

I broke the hug and moved back on the couch, distancing myself a little. “My best friend, Ann, used to watch a lot of TV shows. There was one, her favorite, it was named _‘The Vampire Diaries’_ and…” I breathed in to calm myself and looked into my sister's curious eyes. “You were a character in there.”

She didn’t react, looking at me with a frown. “What?”

“The show, you were in the show!” I finally snapped, standing up and beginning to pace in the middle of the living room. “I don’t know a lot about it, I just watched some episodes with Ann and listened to her rambling but… It was about Elena, who was in love with two brothers, the Salvatores. The brothers were vampires, and they find out that Elena was meant to be sacrificed in a ritual and the shit hit the fan pretty quickly. You and mom, you were characters in there, there was Bonnie too. And Matt, Tyler, his mom. But… I wasn’t. I wasn’t supposed to exist, this world was supposed to be fictional! But I am, and I do things that will change the future but what if I’m wrong? What if my meddling leads to the death of someone who was supposed to live? What if…”

I was brutally stopped in my rambling by a sharp pain in my cheek. “You… Did you slap me?” I looked at Caroline with astonishment, my hand on my harmed cheek.

“Yes, because you’re losing it,” she said, not looking sorry at all. “Take it slow, okay? What do you mean TV show’s characters?”

“You don’t think I’m bat shit crazy or a liar,” I state blandly. 

“I don’t think you’re bat shit crazy, Claire. And I don’t think you’re _lying_. But you have to admit, this is hard to believe… I mean… Vampires? Seriously? You really think that could be real?” She got back by the couch and picked up the pot of ice cream I let down with my existential crisis. “Are you even sure the show is accurate? I’m not telling you’re crazy but, maybe you made it up as a child or something? I mean, Elena is dating Matt and he doesn’t have a brother, just Vicki. And I would have known if Matt was a vampire.” She added the last part as a joke, probably trying to make me relax, but I was way too panicked for that.

“I thought of that, too. It’s why I never told you before today. My trip, last week… It was for that,” I pulled out my phone and searched for the picture of the desiccated body of Mikeal. “Ann said that one of the villains, Mikeal, spent some years trapped in a cemetery at Charlotte before the beginning of the show. I found him,” I told her, giving her the phone.

“Oh my…” She clapped a hand on her mouth, creeped out by his eyes open and weirdly alive on his face gray and dead. “What is… that?”

“It‘s Mikael. A vampire, one of the first actually. A very bad guy, and a worse father. I killed him,” I said blankly, taking the phone from her hands, she didn’t resist. “Here is the video that should, at least, prove the existence of vampires. I think.”

She watched the video three times before putting the phone on the low table. “Oh fuck,” she muttered, staring into space for a whole minute before standing up, grabbing the ice cream, and made her way to the open kitchen. 

I watched her as she put the pot in the freezer and the spoon in the sink. Then she started to search into the closet under the sink and came back into the living room with an old dishcloth. 

“Care… What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Claire? I need to clean up the ice cream, Dad will kill us if we ruin his flooring.” 

I spend the five next minutes watching in incredulity as Caroline cleaned up all traces of ice cream in the room.

“How much of a mess will be our life in the future?” She finally asked, wiping the table with a dishcloth. 

“I don’t know,” I said, letting myself fall on the couch. “My memories about it are spare, everything I know is written in a notebook, and I found diaries of some of our ancestors who knew about vampires in Dad’s room this morning…”

“Wait,” she cut me off. “Dad knows?” She looked at me, with something I couldn’t place in her eyes. 

“About all the reincarnated-in-a-TV-show shit? No, of course not, you’re the only one to know and I plan to keep it that way. But he knows about the supernatural creatures shit. And Mom too. At least, she knew in the show.”

“ _Creatures_? There are more than only vampires?” 

“Oh yes, you don’t even know… The Lockwood are descendants of werewolves, meaning that as soon as they kill someone, purposefully or by accident, they will change into a wolf every full moon.”

“Excuse me… What?” She let her dishcloth on the table and sat across from me on the couch, turning her entire body to face me. I turned too, sitting on one of my legs.

“Yes, and Bonnie? Turns out her Grams isn’t as crazy as she thinks. She’s a witch, like magic and stuff. No Harry Potter wand and broomstick, but still.”

“And Elena? You said something about some ritual earlier?”

“Yeah, she is the mortal copy of some chick who lived two thousand years ago and did bitchy stuff,” I said, rolling my eyes at my sister’s eyes shining with curiosity. “There was that guy, he was dating a powerful witch, okay? He told her how he wanted to spend eternity with her and all that, and pushed her to create an elixir for that and they planned to drink it at their wedding.” 

“This is so romantic!” Caroline’s eyes drifted into space, probably thinking about how she would love to find a hot guy who would make the same thing for her. I smiled, happy to see her act normally again.

“Yes, but no. Turns out the guy was cheating on her with her maid—and probably friend—the whole time. They stole the elixir and left town with it.”

“What?! Oh, the…” She searched for a word but nothing seemed to come, finally, she pouted. “Poor witch.”

“Indeed, but don’t worry too much. She found them and got her revenge. They’re both alive, but both are eternally separated. But, since they can’t die, Nature needed someone to die in their place, so she created their doppelgangers. Elena is one, and I know the other one is her first boyfriend but I can’t remember which brothers it is.”

“Elena will date brothers? Are they hot?” I look at her with amusement but still nod. “Damn. Lucky girl.”

I laugh at her expression, “don’t worry too much, the guy Ann shipped you with is hot too.”

“Really?! Hot how? Who’s it?”

“Well, hot _hot._ And, to be honest, it was kinda the villain. Sort of.”

”Seriously? Wait, come to think of it, I'm not surprised. I always have a thing for bad boys,” she laughed and laid down on the couch, her head on my lap. ”And what about Matt? You talked about all our friends except him.”

I stroke her hair absently while thinking, ”well, I don't remember anything special… I think he dated a vampire at some point, but nothing happened to him particularly. Ann used to joke around about the fact that he was one of the only remaining humans of Mystic Falls.”

We stayed in silence for a while. I was desperately trying to find a way to tell her about Mom’s fate in the show when she talked again. ”Claire… What happened to Mom and me?” 

I looked down at her, startled. ”How do you…”

She had a sad smile at the confirmation that, indeed, _something_ happened to her and Mom. ”You said Matt was the only remaining human of Mystic Falls and didn't mention something about us being witches or werewolves. I figured that Mom and I…” She looked on the side, avoiding my eyes. 

”You’re right.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “You were involved in a car crash, and your chances to make it were low. So Elena asked one of her brothers-boyfriends, Damon I think, but I can't be sure, to feed you his blood.”

”Eeew! Why? That's gross!” 

I chuckled half-nervously, ”yeah, I know, but vampire’s blood has a healing ability.”

”Sill gross. But, if it healed me, then why did I die?”

I winced, just thinking about Caroline’s death disturbed me. ”Katherine Pierce, in short, she's a 500-year-old vampire and the ancestor-slash-doppelganger of Elena. For some reason I can't fathom, she killed you that night, while you had vampire blood in your system. That caused you to turn in one.”

”I… See.” she squeezed my hand holding hers, ”and Mom? What happens to her.”

I closed my eyes because I knew— I knew that I couldn’t prevent Mom from what will happen to her. “She will be diagnosed with cancer around your first year at college.”

I didn’t open my eyes but I could sense Caroline getting up from her position. ”That’s why you insist that Mom and Dad do regular check-ups, right?” 

I finally gathered the courage to look at her, ”yes, that's why I do that. Maybe, if it's diagnosed early, she will have a better chance.”

”And what about vampire blood? You said it has healing abilities, no?” She looked slightly distressed, and I could understand her, it was how I felt about it since I was eight. 

”I think Ann said something about a try but, apparently, the blood didn't work with cancer patients because it actually accelerates the speed of cell production and doesn't make differences between the healthy and unhealthy ones.”

She stayed in silence, her expression thoughtful then, her face became determined. ”Okay, tell me everything you can remember about the show, and what we can do to change everything for the better.”

”What? _We_?” I looked at her dumbfounded.

”You really thought I would let you sort that mess out by yourself?” She raised her eyebrows, surprised. 

”Well… To be honest, I didn't think you would believe me in the first place.”

”As if you could lie to me. I always know when you try to,” she grinned at me patronizingly. 

”That’s not true! I’ve lied to you before, without you ever finding out!” I said defensively. 

”You talking about that time, when you said that you brought me a birthday present months ago but, really, you were still at the mall trying to find one?” Her eyes were full of mischief. ”Or that time, when you said that this guy from Whitmore…”

”Okay! Okay! You win, you win!” I almost screamed, moving my arms desperately in front of her and trying to shut her mouth with my hands. What happened with that guy from Whitmore needed to stay unsaid. ”Let’s plot, okay? You love plotting, don’t you?”

She laughed at my desperate attempt to change the subject but agreed nonetheless. I got up to find my notebook and we browsed through it together. 

I wrote every little detail that I remembered, for the last eight years, in there, along with all my tentative strategies to avoid the big bad news. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


After those days at the Lake’s cabin, Caroline and I grew even closer than before, and Mom was happy about that, surprised but happy. She probably thought it was because of their divorce, and neither Caroline nor I told her otherwise. 

We talked a lot about the few things I could recall of the show, and we both agreed that the most pressing task on our list was Enzo. 

The poor guy was being tortured in the basement of our community college.

We began to plan and investigate, trying to identify where he was and who was implicated in that. I remembered something about a fire in the past, where Damon left Enzo for dead, and after long research in the olds newspapers, Caroline finally found one in the 50s, at Whitmore House.

Concluding that it was probably there, we decided that we needed to snoop around the place and decided to go there by ourselves. Mom was rarely at home, trying to drown her failures in her works. We tried to stop her, at first, to let her know that she wasn’t _wrong_ because her husband came out and left her. But that didn’t help, on the contrary, she seemed to take our words like another failure. We finally let her be, even if we missed our Mom.

That let us a lot of time to go to Whitmore for our investigation. The third time, we had a surprising meeting.

Caroline and I were sitting on a bench, not far from the house itself, when we heard the familiar voice. “Caroline? Claire? What are you doing here?”

We both stood to face him, surprised. Caroline was the one to recover first. “Dr. Gilbert? What are you doing here?”

“I already told you to call me Grayson, Caroline,” he said with a smile, then turned toward the man with him. “I’m working on some research projects with Dr. Maxfield here. Wes, this is the twin daughters of my friend, Bill Forbes.”

“Nice to meet you,” there was something about him that set me off, but I couldn’t tell what. “I already saw you around there, you don’t seem old enough to go to college…”

“We are visiting my friend, Ann,” I said before Caroline, my stomach was tightening because of his presence only, but I couldn’t tell why and I hated myself for that. Bless my sister, who didn’t even flinch at the bullshit she was hearing for the first time.

“Well, we will leave you to it,” Dr. Gilbert put his hand on Maxfield’s shoulder with a smile and they both made their way toward the house. Grayson seemed to say something at the younger doctor, who looked quickly in our direction with a suspicious glare. 

That’s when I recognized him.

I fought hard to keep a smile on my face until they disappeared into the house, then, I collapsed on the bench, paler than usual. 

Caroline looked at me, worried, “Claire? What is it? Are you alright?” 

“It’s him, Care,” I muttered. “He was the one I saw torturing Enzo.”

Her eyes widened, and I could almost see my words made their way into her brain. I knew exactly when she came to the same conclusion as me. “ _Research projects_ … You can’t think that… Come on, Claire, it’s Elena’s father!” 

“But think about it Care! He’s from a founding family, he knows about… All the stuff. You can’t deny it, that seems plausible!”

She sat beside me, “Oh my…”

And indeed, a future investigation led us to conclude that Grayson Gilbert was implicated in those experiments. We were stuck, not knowing how to proceed or what to do with our information.

And then, it happened. On May 23, Elena and her parents had an accident, and the girl was the only one who survived. I didn’t know why, but when I heard of that, I knew that it had begun. Soon enough, the shit will hit the fan in Mystic Falls. I needed to get Enzo out before then. Something told me I would need allies in the future.

Two weeks later, Elena asked Caroline and Bonnie to go with her to a soiree, held in her parents’ memories, at the hospital. I wasn’t that surprised by the lack of invitation for me, Elena and I weren’t that close. No, I was more interested in the fact that _all_ of Grayson’s colleagues were invited. And by all, I mean even his colleagues from Whitmore.

Caroline didn’t agree with me, of course, because she had to be with Elena that night, but it was the best moment to try and free Enzo from Augustine.

I needed to take out my crowbar. 

And find a good lockpick kit, too.


	4. I wasn't planning to die… Again.

“You’re sure you want to do it now?” Caroline said, for the tenth time in less than twenty minutes.

“You know I have to do it tonight, it’s probably the only opportunity we will have before a long time,” I replied, pulling my car in a spot in front of the hospital. 

“I know but… I can call Elena and tell her I can’t come because you’re sick or something…” 

I sighed but I knew she was just worried for me, after all, I was going to sneak into a secret organization’s HQ, to free a vampire who had been tortured and starved for a _long_ time. He could totally eat me in half a second. 

“Look, Care, don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine. You know Elena needs you, she is avoiding everyone since her parents’ death, and if she asked you to be there it’s because she really needs a friend.”

“Yeah, I know… You’re right,” she said, leaning the back of her head against her seat and sighed. Finally, she turned toward me, “you’re still planning to steal it from here?”

I decided to ignore her worried tone. “Hell yes, this is going to be fun.”

She chuckled, “promise me to be prudent, Claire, please.”

“I will be prudent, Care, I promise.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


That’s funny how, in my first life, the most illegal and dangerous thing I ever did was when Ann provided a fake ID, and we used them to enter some clubs. And now that I was the daughter of a fucking Sheriff, I found myself in some big, dangerous, and illegal business every Monday. 

Like opening a grave, in the middle of the night, to kill a thousand years old vampire. Or breaking into a hospital to steal blood bags. 

I wasn’t reckless to the point of releasing a starving vampire without food elsewhere than in _my veins_ , thank you very much. 

It didn’t take me very long to find the place where the blood was stocked, I came yesterday to search for it and see where the cameras were located. I _was_ prepared. 

Finding a badge that I could discreetly steal and use to open it was something else.

Honestly, I kind of expected it to just be there, on the first desk I came across, like in every movie ever. I sort of lived in a TV show, no? But it wasn’t as easy, unfortunately. I had to ‘accidentally’ bump into four nurses before I could finally grab their freaking card. 

A quick research google that morning, and I knew that the most common blood types were O and A positive. Of the two, the A-type was the one with less compatibility with other types and I chose to steal only from that type. 

I knew that the blood was still needed, really, but I didn’t care that much. It was a dozen blood bags or my life. I was kind of egotistical when it came to that and I wasn’t planning to die… _Again_. 

It took me considerably less time to come back to my car, with the blood secured in my bag, than what I had needed to steal the badge.

  
  


* * *

  
  


I parked my car at a five minutes walking distance from the Whitmore House, in a tentative way to hide it a little. 

The door of the house was surprisingly unlocked. Was it normal? Was it safe to continue with my plan? 

Shaking my head, I opened the door. 

_Sorry, Care._

That was where the problem came… How did I find those secret labs, now? 

Nevermind. That was easy, finally. They were behind the only closed door. Finally, this lockpick kit was being useful!

Walking through the bland laboratory was somewhat scary, but nothing like when I finally made it to the cells. They were exactly how I always pictured the cells in those old castles would be. Dirty, rocky, and scary.

One of the cells was empty. 

In the second one was a dark-haired man, half lying against the wall in the back, his head down on his naked chest. His _bloody_ naked chest. From where I was, I could still see thin red lines on it, some slowly disappearing, and stains of dry blood. 

“Oh my…” I muttered, stopping at a safe distance from the bars. “Hey? Can you hear me?” 

I startled him—I startled a _vampire._ What, exactly, had they done to him? Even now that he knew I was here, he just looked at me blandly. “I… I have blood for you,” I said, pulling out one of the blood bags. 

I could see his eyes slightly widening with shock before a frown took place on his face; he was suspicious. “I will be honest, I didn’t plan that far. The plan was kinda lame, something like ‘gate in there, free the guy’ but I don’t exactly know what I’m supposed to do, now… So, I will just put that here for you, okay…” I put the bag slowly in the cell, passing my arm between the bars, my heart beating at an awfully fast rhythm in my chest.

I looked at him, but he didn’t move, looking at me with a mix of shock, suspicion, and gratitude. I saw his hand twitching slightly, in the bag direction, and realized how stupid I was. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t really think about it… Can you move?” I stammered out, nervous and, really, just embarrassed I hadn’t thought about it.

“Not really, darling,” his voice was hoarse. Was it because he didn’t talk for a long time? Or because he… screamed too much recently? I really didn’t want to know. 

“Oh, God…” I looked at the ceiling, “I’m sorry, Caroline, I’m going to do something stupid.” I pulled out my crowbar from my bag and was going to open the door with it when my phone rang. 

I took it out to see Caroline’s name on the screen. How did she know what I was going to do? “Care? How did-”

_“Claire, you need to get the fuck out of there, now!”_

“What? Why?” I could see Enzo frown deepen as he concentrated to listen in. 

_“Maxfield! I was looking out for him and I heard someone say something about him going back to the house to meet someone. I don’t know what it is, Claire, but you need to get out before he gets there.”_

“I found him, Care, I can’t leave him behind!” 

“Claire, please…” She sighed, defeated. “Do it quickly, Claire, I don’t know how long you have.”

“I will, I call you back when we are out of there,” I cut the call and tucked my phone back in my pocket. “So… I’m opening the door but, please, don’t kill me, okay?”

He chuckled lightly and, despite the broken voice, the sound was reassuring. It took me five good minutes to break the door with my crowbar. It was old and rusty, the only thing that prevented Enzo from doing it was… Well, his poor physical condition.

I grabbed the blood bag from the floor and slowly made my way to him. “Remember, huh? You don’t kill me, okay?” 

I helped him drink at first but his arms were good enough after the second one for him to do it by himself. I was handing him the sixth one when we heard the front door opening and males voices. 

“You could have chosen another day for that Aaron,” began a voice I recognized as Maxfield’s. “I can’t just stop everything because you want to see in your father’s safe.”

“You can just give a key, if that’s the problem, Wes,” another voice replied, way younger than Maxfield. 

“You know I can’t let you come here alone, some of our researches are dangerous.” 

I almost chuckled at that. Looking at Enzo, I knew what he was thinking instantly.

“You can’t!” I whispered. “Please-”

“I let you here, I’m going to go see how my rats labs are doing while you see what you want to,” Wes’ voice was closer now.

“Please, don’t throw away what I did to free you!” I whispered-shouted, panicking. We could go away, I knew we could with Enzo’s vampire speed, but not if he tried to get some sort of revenge at Maxfield. “He is probably carrying vervain and you are not in any shape to beat him right now.”

He looked offended and stood, trying to prove me wrong, but almost tripped on his own feet and was only able to stand with the help of the wall. I looked at him with pleading eyes. 

“Please…” If he chose to fight, I was screwed. 

His stare was determinately focused on the door, from where we could hear Maxfield’s steps. I could understand the hate in his eyes, I _saw_ what they did to him, and I knew they did so much more than that. 

I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at him when Maxfield opened the door. “It’s okay, I’m not mad.” 

As soon as the whisper left my mouth, I felt the world turning and the wind in my face.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and I looked up from my position, pressed against his chest, to see him looking away from me. 

“Oh my God! Thank you!” I hugged him tightly, “I thought he was going to find us!” 

I let go of him and he smiled, ”I’ll be back in a second.” Before I could even think of stopping him, he was gone. 

I looked at the place he used to be, my eyes so wide, they were hurting me. ”Did he get back there anyway? Everything I did was for nothing?”

”Don’t worry, gorgeous, I just needed to grab that,” I turned around to see him, holding an ancient-looking ring. ”It was kept in their safe and I heard him open it.” He shrugged and I just breathed heavily. 

“Daylight ring?” He nodded and I looked at it thoughtfully. “I was wondering how I could get you one. Anyway! Do you think you can use your vamp’s speed again? My car is in this direction.”

He nodded and looked at me strangely. “Your car… you don’t seem old enough to have a car…”

“Oh my, I have so much to teach you about this century!” I exclaimed, grabbing his arm. “But first, I need to call my sister and we are going to pick her up too… Oh! My name’s Claire, by the way, Claire Forbes!”

He looked a little taken aback by my attitude. 

“Enzo,” he muttered, but I heard him all good in the silence of the night. 

The next second, we were next to my car. 

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Enzo and I were waiting for my sister, in the car parked in front of the hospital. Enzo changed into my dad’s old clothes that Caroline thought of providing for him, his face hidden in the hood of a black sweater, and was drinking the last blood bags I stole for him. 

I sent a quick text to Care, telling her that I was here, before looking at Enzo in the rearview. He was looking at me too, and our gaze met. 

“I know you probably want to ask a lot of questions right now, and I will answer as much as I can, I promise. I just want to be sure we’re in a private place for that, okay?”

He stared at me for a while but didn’t respond. Honestly, I was becoming nervous in that silence. I would have begun to ramble if Caroline hadn’t opened the door.

“Thank God, you make it out alive, I would have killed you otherwise!” She sat beside me and I started the car instantly. She turned her upper body to face Enzo. “Hi there, my name is Caroline, I’m her twin sister, nice to meet you.”

“Enzo,” his tone wasn’t as cheerful as Caroline’s but at least he answered. 

Caroline seemed to take the hint because she stayed silent on the way home. I pulled on the alleyway and noted that, as I suspected, Mom’s cruiser wasn’t there. She spent all her time working since Dad left.

“So, you need a verbal invitation to enter a house, right?” I asked as we made our way to the door. “How does that work exactly? Did that need to be said by the owner or anyone who lives there is fine? Because it’s Mom’s name on the deed…” 

“No, anyone who lives there is fine,” he answered, looking at us curiously as Caroline turned the keys and pushed the door. “You don’t know me, why are you letting me come into your house?” 

“Because we’re stupid?” I asked jokingly and Caroline rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind her, she is the stupid one. Come in, Enzo, and we will explain, okay?” 

We made our way to my room, making a slight detour by the kitchen to grab some unhealthy food to eat while we talked. Caroline and I sat on the bed but Enzo chose to stay standing. I guess he still didn’t trust us completely.

“I don’t want to lie to you,” I began—because it was my explanation to give. Caroline had let me be the one to choose what I would say to him. “You’ll have to accept that I wouldn’t be able to tell you everything. Not now anyway.”

I waited until he nodded to continue. “I had a best friend, Ann. She passed away in a car crash now but, before that she told me about some things she… _Saw_.”

Technicality. I was going to base all my explanations on them. Ann _was_ my best friend, and she _saw_ the things I knew thanks to her. If they think that she was some sort of witch… Well, I never mentioned something like that.

* * *

  
  


After our conversation, and a quick update about the 21st century, we took Enzo to the only motel in town. For a week after that, while Caroline went to cheerleading practice after school, Enzo and I will walk in the park and I will teach him how to live in the 21st century.

Today wasn't an exception, well, apart from the fact that we didn't talk. I didn't really find anything to add to our lesson, we had pretty much talked about all the important things. 

"I wasn't always alone there; I don't know if Ann saw that…" He said suddenly, surprising me. 

He looked at me sideways and I nodded, to let him know that she did. 

"She didn't tell me everything, but I remember that."

"I thought he was my friend, you know? We had a plan to escape and I trusted him,” he passed a hand in through his hair, keeping his gaze stubbornly in front of him. "He left me for dead at the first obstacle. Switched his humanity and turned on his heels, leaving me trapped in a flaming room. I know I'm the one to blame, I was stupid enough to-..."

"You're not! You're not at fault, and you weren't stupid for wanting a friend after years alone in there," I said, taking his hand in mine. "I'm sorry you had to live that, Enzo. But you're my friend now and, as long as you don't harm my family, I will never betray you."

He stopped his walk and turned to look at me. "I owe you everything, Claire. I would never think about hurting you or your loved ones." 

He hugged me and I returned it happily.

* * *

I turned around in the kitchen, searching for the serving spoons, while Caroline looked at me with a mocking smirk. 

"Aren't you going to help me? Enzo will be here any minute, now!" I looked at the clock, panicked, "and Mom, why isn't she here?"

"Claire…" Caroline sighed at my back when I ran toward my phone to call Mom. 

"No, Care, she said she would be here, this time. She is not going to work all night." I pushed on her name in my contact list and took the phone to my ear. She answered after two rings.

"Claire, I was going to call you…" Her voice was apprehensive, and I let myself fall onto one of the chairs, I knew what she was going to say.

"You have to work all night, don’t you?" Caroline looked at me with sympathy. "It's the third time you can't make it."

"Claire, I'm sorry-..." She began, but I cut her.

"No, you're not. We want you to meet our friend, really meet him, not just cross him at the doorway. Because _you_ don't approve of our friendship with him. You can't even come and make your own opinion of him, because you chose your job over your daughters. Again." I stood up and made my way to the oven to check on my chicken. "You know what? It's okay, don't come, but I don't want you to judge him, or any of our friends, because you don't have the right anymore."

"Claire…" I heard her sighs, the silence stretched for another minute and, just when I was ready to cut the call, she continued. "Give me an hour, okay? I'll be a little late, but I'll come, I promise."

I didn't answer right away, looking at Caroline's expectant features. 

"Okay, but after an hour, we start dinner without you."

"Fair enough," she whispered. "Well, I have to go if I want to be there on time... Bye, Claire."

"Bye, Mom." I cut the call. "She'll be an hour late… But, hey, at least she will come!" I add the last bit with fake cheerfulness, and Caroline wasn't fooled.

Mom briefly met Enzo not long after we freed him, three weeks ago, when he came to our house to see us. Most of the time she wasn’t here, and when she was, she was on her way to work, and the only thing she knew about him was his looks. 

Enzo looked like he was in his late 20s, and she wasn't really pleased that we were friends with a guy that much older than us.

Ironically, the only viable excuse we found was that he was from Whitmore. Technicality, I guess.

Today was the third time we tried to organize a dinner for her to meet him officially. Tried was the keyword, she canceled at the last minute two times already. But I wasn't going to try a fourth time.

Caroline and I were setting the table, leaving only the hot things in the oven, when the doorbell rang. Enzo probably knew my Mom wasn't there, but if he didn't, he probably understood when he saw my face. 

"She called to cancel?"

"She said she will be there in…" I looked at my watch, "thirty-three minutes, now, but who knows." 

He took me in a one-armed hug before entering the house. We've been building a strong friendship since our talk, at the park. I liked that.

I closed the door and followed him in the living room, where Caroline had finished the table. 

"How about we put the TV on while we wait for Mom?"

We were in the middle of our second episodes of Friends when the door opened again. I smiled at my Mom when she entered the living room in her Sheriff uniform. 

"Mom! You came! I will go grab the chicken and the potatoes; everyone sits at the table!" I ran to the kitchen and Caroline followed me to help.

When everyone was served, we all ate in awkward silence for the first minutes. Then, Enzo told her how 'wonderful' we are and other sweet words. By the end of the dinner, Mom absolutely loved him.

That was a pretty cool dinner.

* * *

"So, you chose what you're going to do now?" I asked Enzo, before taking a sip of my tea.

"Not really," he said, adding sugar in his coffee, and I masked a disgusted pout in my cup. "I don't have anything, anywhere, besides you and your sister."

"As much as I want to keep you here, we can't take that risk with Augustine searching for you…" I whispered the last part, knowing that he would hear me anyway. We were at the Grill waiting for Care, and I didn't want anyone to hear what we were talking about.

"You know, I could just come back there and…" He looked at me with a hopeful smile, but I shook my head.

"We can't risk it. They expect you; they would be prepared. We need more help, and I know of someone who will be in town soon enough, and that I can't bring to help us. But in the meantime, you need to be at a safe distance."

"And for that, we thought about a trip around the world," Caroline said, sitting at our table with her own coffee. "Don't seem so disgusted, Claire, it's not like I shoved the cup under your nose." She joked when she saw my grimace.

"I can already smell it too much as it is, I don't need that… thing near my precious nose, thank you very much." I turned towards an amused Enzo. "But yes, we thought about making you travel a little. You would see the world, and we can stay in contact via Skype. We will tell you as soon as we have the help to handle the case Augustine, I promise."

"This is the only way to keep everyone safe?" He asked, but I knew that he already knew the answer. 

"It is," I told him and he just nodded.

"I want a picture of every single place you will visit, okay?" Caroline said, only half-joking.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Bonnie sent me a text,” Caroline said, putting the car in a spot in front of our school. “She said Elena seemed fine when she picked her up, but I wouldn’t believe her until I’ve seen her myself. The poor thing lost both of her parents and then locked herself up. I hadn’t seen her since that night, at the hospital.”

It was the first day of school and, to be honest, I didn’t even see the summer pass by. Enzo started his travel around the world, as far as possible from Whitmore and its surrounding for the time being. We stayed in contact, tough, and the vampire was slowly becoming someone I would call my best friend.

Caroline talked with him too, even if they weren’t as close, my sister was actually active in Mystic Falls social life and hadn’t as much free time as me.

The absence of Elena at all the ‘ _place to be_ ’ this summer had been a pretty recurrent subject with Caroline. 

“Really?” I said, pulling my hair up in a ponytail. “I think you’re just trying to not think about Dad by getting your nose in other people’s business,” I told her without beating around the bush.

She glared at me and I started to laugh at her offended face, but stopped quickly, choking with a shocked gasp. My face probably turned pale because Caroline’s glare dropped and she looked at me with concern. “Claire? Are you ok?”

I shook my head, my eyes not moving from him as he walked through the crowd of students, sunglasses on the nose. The only thing I could do was stutter out a “Care…”

She understood what I was trying to say because she followed my line of sight. “This is a new student? I don’t know him…”

“It’s him, Care. It’s happening,” I whispered, feeling dizzy and trying to inhale, but my breath was blocked in my throat. “We’re in the first episode.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, we're finally at the beginning of the series! What did you think about Claire's operation? Enzo wasn't too OOC?
> 
> Thanks to the wonderful WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet) who beta'ed this chapter!
> 
> Stay safe!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish


	5. I will always pick you first.

_‘Act normally.’_

_‘He can’t know we know about him.’_

_‘No big deal, we knew this day was coming, right?’_

I can’t _believe_ I said that to Caroline less than three hours ago. I was actually a big ball of nerves. Literally a mess. Especially since my French class, and guess who was there? Stefan _freaking_ Salvatore. 

I mean, the guy was a vampire, no? He was as old as dirt, he should’ve had the time to learn French _before_ , right?

The bell rang, and I put my stuff in my bag, faster than I had ever done before. Thankfully, the guy was too focused on Elena to notice that I was trying to be as far from him as possible. 

I had my next class with Caroline, and we agreed to meet up by her locker. I found her there, talking with Dana, a girl from our History class. 

“Hey, Dana, ready for Tanner?”

“Oh, God, no, who is ready for a class with him, really?” She rolled her eyes and I chuckled. 

Contrary to the majority of Mystic Falls’ student population, I didn’t really _hate_ Tanner. I mean, the guy was a prick, but I found it amusing how he never sugarcoated any of his thoughts. 

That being said, I hate having classes with him and totally think the guy never should’ve become a teacher. He _sucked_. 

“No one, Dana, no one. We all dread these moments, like Gryffindor dread Snape’s classes.”

She laughed, “well, girls, I’ll be on my way, I need to grab my books. Hope the paper helps, Caroline. Bye, Claire.”

“You need to stop the Harry Potter reference, Claire. You will scare away any boys who want to date you.” 

I smiled, of course, everything turned around boys with my sister.

“If he can’t stand a reference or two, I’m so not gonna date him,” I replied, sticking out my tongue. “Paper?” I ask with a curious look in the direction where Dana left.

She took a paper out of her bag, “Dana works at the students’ desk, so I asked her to find me a copy of Salvatore’s file.”

I blink, startled, I had forgotten about him for the time of the conversation. “Care, you—”

“You know me,” she cut me. “I need to know everything about the new hot guy in school.” She said with a smile, but her eyes were telling me that it was totally something she would have done. Even if we were not in the current situation. And I knew she was right.

“You’re incorrigible,” I smiled. “But you’re my little sister, so I love you anyway.”

“Aww, I knew that. Who, in their right mind, doesn’t love me?”

* * *

  
  


I parked Caroline’s car in front of the house. She gave it to me after class, choosing to go to the Grill with Bonnie. I wasn’t in the mood for people right now, and I _definitely_ wasn’t in the mood for the discussion the girls will certainly have about Salvatore. 

I closed the car and made my way to the door when I noticed that Mom’s cruiser was on the street. That was odd, she usually worked at that hour.

I found her standing in the living room, wearing her Sheriff’s uniform and a worried expression on her face, looking at the TV. “Mom? I thought you worked tonight…”

She turned toward me, surprised, shoving her right hand in a bag on the table. Trying, but failing, to hide the journal she was holding. 

Caroline and I had read those journals months ago, they were from our ancestors, and about vampires. 

I looked at the TV, turned on the news channel, and talked about the death of Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton in an ‘ _animal attack_ ’. Oh, the Council was already suspicious?

“Claire? Didn’t you go to the Grill with your sister?” She asked, turning off the news.

“I wasn’t in the mood for people right now. I think I will just take a shower and call Enzo,” I said with a tired smile.

“Where is he now? Spain, right?” She asked, grabbing the sports bag from the table. 

“Yes, for one more week, I think. You’re… going back to work?” I asked, a little disappointed, but not really surprised. 

“Yes, I have to work, I just needed something here,” she looked at me for a second. “I’m sorry Claire, I…”

I let the silence lengthen as I waited for her to finish her sentence, but she didn’t. “It’s okay, Mom, I’m not surprised.” 

I could see that my response hurt her, but there was nothing I could say—would say—to change that. Dad left almost a year ago and she was still processing it. I understand that, but we were her daughters, Dad left us, too. We needed our mother and she chose her work over us. _I_ could live with that, I was used to it, but not Caroline, despite all her denial.

I made my way to my room without adding anything and, five minutes later, I heard the front door closing. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Two hours and a shower later, I grabbed my computer and sat down on my bed, in pajamas, to skype Enzo. He took his time to answer, and I used it to dry my hair. 

“Hey, Gorgeous, how was your first day at school?” His voice was sleepy and I suddenly remembered the time difference. 

“Oh my, you were sleeping? I’m so sorry! I can call back later if-”

“Don’t worry, Gorgeous, I don’t need much sleep anyway,” he said, looking at me through the screen with narrowed eyes. “But you, you seem preoccupied, what’s in your mind?” 

I sighed, preparing myself for the coming discussion. “Remember when I said that Ann saw some things that will happen, in Mystic Falls, in the future?” He nodded and I let myself fall back on my pillows, bringing my computer with me. “Everything began when two vampires, two brothers came to town, and one of them was at my school that morning and the other will probably be here in no time.”

“I’ll be there in two days.”

“No!” I almost scream, getting up and nearly breaking my computer in the process. “Enzo, you can’t be in Mystic Falls right now, okay? The Council is on the edge, two people have died already, I can’t risk them finding out about you. And... “ I trailed off, not sure how I could say the rest.

“And what Claire?” He sounded nervous.

“Look, I don’t recall _everything_ Ann told me about your captivity, but… Enzo… The brothers, it’s… It’s Damon and Stefan Salvatore.” I looked at him while all sorts of expressions crossed his face until determination settled.

“You can’t expect me not to come, Claire! This man, you can’t trust him,” he said, closing his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, I could see how much he was troubled. “You freed me from them, you _saved_ me, I owe you _everything_. I _need_ to come and protect you from him, Claire.”

“No, you need to stay alive. If there is something I know about the Salvatores, it’s that they will do anything to protect themselves, or what they consider as theirs. They wouldn’t hesitate before denouncing you to the council.” I looked at him with pleading eyes. “Please, Enzo, you’ll have the opportunity for your revenge, I promise, but… Please, not now, give me just a little time before coming back.”

He looked above the camera for a minute, his jaw clenched, before talking again. “How are Caroline and Liz?” 

I sighed with a little smile, relieved, I knew he wouldn’t let the subject drop completely yet, but at least he wasn’t going to buy a plane ticket as soon as we cut the call. “They’re fine. Mom still works day and night but we’re used to it, now.”

We talked for twenty more minutes, and I could sense that he wasn’t pleased to stay away from Mystic Falls. I cut the call knowing that he needed some time to digest the news.

I sighed, again, looking at the windows. That’s it, I was officially into a TV show. 

  
  


Caroline came home with take-out while I was doing my homework in the kitchen. I stood to help her set the food on the table. “How were Bonnie and Elena?”

She didn’t look up from the bag she was emptying when she answered. “They were okay. Elena came with Stefan.” She sat and grabbed her box to eat.

I waited for her to continue, there was no way she hadn’t more to say, but she didn’t. “What’s up, Caroline? Are you okay?”

She finally looked at me with a sad smile at the corner of her mouth. “It’s stupid, really,” she sighed, playing with her food. “It’s Stefan… I wanted to see if he would be interested in me, you know? But he was so into Elena… And he was so _rude_ about it— I asked him if he was coming to the party tomorrow, and you know what he did?” She put her hair behind her ear, annoyed. “He asked _Elena_ if she was coming. I get it, it’s always about Elena; she’s perfect, she doesn’t even try to be but… It’s okay, I’m inappropriate, I know that. I’m not like her. Everyone picks her… she is Elena. It’s always about Elena…”

I looked at Caroline with surprise, since when my little sister felt like that? 

“It’s not.” She stopped playing with her food to look at me. “It’s not always about her, Caroline. Everything I ever did, _ever_ , was about _you._ _You_ are my little sister. I will always pick _you_ first.” I got around the table and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at me in the eyes. “You deserve the world, Caroline. And, one day, someone would see it, and they would pick _you_ first. You are not inappropriate, you’re you, and if they can’t see how wonderful it is, they don’t deserve your love.”

She hugged me tightly as soon as I finished. 

“Thank you, Claire,” she whispered. “I think I needed to hear that.”

“Anytime, little sis, anytime.”

* * *

  
  


“You know that I’m at this stupid party because of you, right?” I looked at Caroline with a glare, grabbing a beer. It’s frightening how underage drinking was easy in this town.

“I know, it’s because you love me!” Her eyes suddenly looked at something behind me. “Look like Stefan is here.”

I turned to look at him, “I thought his opinion doesn’t matter anymore?”

She smiled at me with mischief, “oh, it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean I will let him flirt with Elena so easily.”

“You’re _incorrigible_. And remember, he doesn’t deserve you.” 

She kissed my cheek and made her way to the poor guy. I’m almost sorry for him. 

I sat in a corner, talking to some of my classmates, but I wasn’t really a sociable girl and they didn’t stay long with me. Caroline came back ten minutes later, a pout on her lips.

“That’s not even funny, the guy disappeared as soon as I turned around!” Her offended face was too funny and I laughed at her, causing her to smack me on the arm.

“Don’t be like that, you know it’s funny!” I teased her with a smile.

“You’re so troublesome, Claire! Come on, let’s dance!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the dancefloor to dance with her.

I had to admit, that was fun. So, of course, something bad happened. We turned toward the woods, from where Elena and Jeremy were coming, screaming for help. “Oh my God, It’s Vicki!”

Matt ran toward his sister when the information finally caught up, and I turned toward the last place I saw Salvatore. He looked shocked and walked quickly out of the crowd.

Soon Vicki was taken to the hospital and Caroline and I got in Bonnie’s car—she was the one who drove us here. 

“Do you want me to pass by the Grill? She needs a coffee to get sober, no?” She looked at Caroline, whose head was on my shoulder.

“No it’s okay, thank you, take us home directly. Don’t worry, even if Mom is still awake I will cover for her.”

When we got home, Mom wasn’t even there. Still working, I guess.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” Caroline asked while I took off my shoes.

“Of course,” I wasn’t even looking at her, but I knew she hadn’t finished talking.

“Do you— Do you think it was Stefan?” 

I looked up, honestly surprised by her question. “Vicki?” I asked, and she nodded. “I… don’t think so? He looked surprised and… Ann mentioned something about not controlling himself when he drinks human blood. She would be dead if it was Stefan. No, I rather think that— I think Damon is in town.”

And what a terrifying thought it was.

  
  


* * *

  
  


I was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea between my hands when Caroline entered the living room. 

“There was another, Care. ‘ _Animal_ ’ attack, I mean. They found two dead campers this morning.”

“So… It’s official. He is in town too…”

“I don’t want you at less than five feet from him, Care.”

“I will try,” she said with a chuckle.

“I’m serious Caroline, I don’t want him to use you. Did you take your vervain?”

“It’s in there,” she showed me her coffee. “And in there,” she grabbed her necklace. She looked at me and I was sure she could see how much I was worried. “I’ll be okay, Claire. Come on, we have to go. Oh, and you remember that we have to give out the programs, after school?”

“Oh my, you’re a despot, Care, you know that?”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Caroline?” I asked with worry when I saw her wandering around the Place. “Sorry, Dana, I have to go see what’s up with her.”

“It’s okay, Claire. See you tomorrow.”

I waved at her and walked to Care, who was looking around her with a frown. “What’s wrong? I can’t let you alone for five minutes?” I joked, but I didn’t like the expression on her face.

She rolled her eyes, “it’s just Vicki, Jeremy can’t find her and Matt is worried now. Did you know Vicki slept with Jeremy?”

“Yes, that was pretty obvious. The kid has been walking behind her like a lost puppy since this summer. Where is the last place she was seen?”

“The Grill, I think. She works there so she-” She looked down at her phone when he beeped. “Nevermind, they found her, they’re at the Grill,” she told me, grabbing my hand and walking us there.

“Who found her?” I asked, curious.

“Bonnie says it’s Stefan,” he replied, opening the door. 

I suddenly stopped in the middle of the Grill, looking at Matt who was making another bandage around Vicki’s neck.

“Care…” She looked toward me curiously. “Stefan found her…. Without her bandage…”

“Yea-... No… You think... His br-... He was…” She trailed off as Stefan entered the Grill, too. We shared a look before sitting at Bonnie’s table.

“Hey, Bonnie. How is your Grams?” 

“Hey, Claire! Still as drunk as usual but-” She was cut by Stefan.

“Uhm, have you guys seen Elena?” He asked, he looked nervous, probably about what his brother could have done to her.

I shook my head but Bonnie answered, “I think she went home,” she looked at the poor guy’s disappointed face and added. “I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number, and her email,” she said, writing down the information. “She is big on texting, and you can tell her I said so.”

She held out her hand and he grabbed the paper, and Bonnie suddenly froze for a second.

“You ok?” Stefan asked.

“What happened to you?” She whispered, before realizing what she said, she shook her head. “That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me,” she stood up and almost ran in the direction of the restrooms. 

“Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's like... her thing.” Caroline said awkwardly, with a smile toward Stefan. When Stefan was out of the Grill, she turned toward me. “That was one of her witchy stuff?”

“I don’t really know, I think so… Even if she doesn’t believe her, her Grams is telling her she is a witch, maybe it’s because her powers are activating?” I shrugged. “Go start the car, I will see how she is, okay?”

She nodded and we stood. I found Bonnie at one of the sinks, filling her hands with water to wet her face. “Bonnie? You okay?”

She jumped and looked toward me, a hand on her heart. “God, Claire, you scared me,” she shook her head and turned off the water. “I’m fine, thanks. I just had this… feeling when I touched him.”

“What feeling, Bonnie?”

She looked in my eyes through the mirror with concern, “It’s stupid but… It’s just how I imagine… He felt like… Like death.” Then she smiled nervously and shook her head. “I’m probably just drunk, that’s okay! Don’t worry, I’ll just go home now.”

“Yeah… Okay…” I looked at her, wondering what I could add, before just waving goodbye and turning on my heels, taking the parking’s direction. 

I almost had a heart attack when I got there to find Damon Salvatore flirting with my sister. 

“Caroline?” I almost-screamed and walked quickly toward them.

“Claire!” She smiled at me with her future-Miss-Mystic-Falls-smile, “This is Damon, he’s Stefan’s brother! He didn’t tell me he has a brother! Did he tell you?”

“I didn’t talk much with him, so no, he didn’t,” I turned toward Damon. “Nice to meet you, Damon. What did you want with my sister.”

“He wanted a date tonight but, honestly, with all that stuff with Vicki, I’m not really in the mood, sorry Damon.”

“No worries, it’s okay…” He looked between us, puzzled, and his eyes landed on our necklaces. “Nice necklaces, by the way. They’re... Identical...” 

I grabbed mine with my left hand. “It’s a present from our Mom, the Sheriff, something about an heirloom of the Forbes or something.” I smiled politely at him, letting him know that we were the Sheriff’s daughters and from a Founders’ Family. If he hadn’t already known, of course. 

“Well, ladies, I think it's time for me to leave,” he tilted his head toward us and took the Grill’s direction. 

When the door closed behind him I grabbed Caroline’s hand but didn’t dare to say a word, fearing that he was listening. We got in the car and made our way to our house silently.

“He tried to flirt with me the old way first,” she began when she parked in front of the house. “And when I didn’t respond the way he wanted, he tried to compel me to _‘go together to your house_ ’. I was telling him that I wasn’t interested when you got there. I was… I was terrified, Claire.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Caroline. I’m so sorry,” I clutched her hand as hard as I could. “But I’ll not let him hurt you, okay? I’ll never let him hurt you. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're in the first few episodes... What do you think? For now, we stay pretty close from canon but things change in two or three chapters max, I promise! 
> 
> Thanks again to WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet) who beta'ed the chapter!
> 
> Stay at home when you can, wash your hands, I hope you stay safe!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish


	6. That was epic!

I walked beside Caroline toward her cheerleading practice, listening to her rambling about what she would make them do today. Honestly, I didn’t understand how anyone could work under Caroline’s commandment _voluntarily._

I mean, she's my sister and I love her, but she's a _despot_.

We made it to the terrain where all the girls were gathered, and Caroline squealed when she saw Elena. ”God, I was afraid you wouldn’t come! Okay, girls, everyone is here?” 

”Hey, Bonnie. Are you okay? I haven't seen you since yesterday evening.” I asked with concern, she had been really freaked out by her ’vision’ yesterday.

”I’m good Claire, thank you,” she smiled, but I could see she was not _totally_ good. 

“If you say so,” I said before turning toward Elena. “Hey, Elena, I heard your boyfriend tannered Tanner this morning!” She chuckled, but Bonnie seemed to become even more uncomfortable. “First Tyler, then Tanner, looks like the guy isn’t afraid to talk back.”

“Yeah, he isn’t… And it looks like he’s going to try out for the football team…” She looked behind me with a fond smile. I turned to see Salvatore running toward the football terrain, in uniform. A vampire in a football team, well, _that,_ that was weird. And probably cheating, too.

Before we could continue our conversation, we were cut by Caroline, coming in our direction, her anger clearly _palpable_. “Did you see Gwen? She’s not here. Who does she think she is? She can’t just skip practice!”

“She wasn’t in English this morning,” I added, helpfully. But I was just rewarded with a glare.

“She wasn’t in History and Physics, either. Maybe she’s sick?” Bonnie said with a frown.

“She can’t be _sick_! We need to practice, we have a match tomorrow night, we can’t afford to not be _excellent_. And we will not be if _someone_ decides to not come to practice!”

“I will call her, okay, Caroline. Don’t worry I’m sure she—” but Elena was cut off by a car coming in our direction.

I couldn’t tell the model or the brand, it was a blue car and it seemed _expensive_. Gwen was in the car… with _Damon Salvatore_. Looked like he found another poor girl to compel. I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt toward the girl but… I would choose Caroline over anyone, anytime. 

“Oh my God… It’s Damon, Stefan’s brother.” Elena said when she saw him.

“Look like the guy has a thing for underage girls…” When Bonnie and Elena turned toward me curiously, I shrugged. “He hit on Caroline yesterday, and now it’s Gwen. Both are underage, seems like he has a type. Honestly, he was a little creepy when we talked to him,” I said, knowing that he was certainly listening.

He smiled in our direction, waved at Elena, and disappeared with his car as soon as Gwen was out of it.

Gwen walked toward us with a smug smile on her lips and a scarf around her neck. “Hey girls. Caroline, honey, sorry I’m late. I had… Better things to _do_ , if you see what I mean. Elena, I got your boyfriend’s brother, we’re, like, already sister-in-law at this point, right?” She laughed at her own joke and made her way toward the lockers room.

Caroline blinked at her back for a while. “I was sorry for her for, like, three seconds, but now I just want to kill her.” 

“Elena, I’m sorry, but I have to tell you. Your boyfriend’s family is _creepy_ ,” I said to the girl with a fake apological look. They all laughed and a smile broke on my lips. “Okay! Bye, girls, I let you with this despot! I mean, with my lovely sister!” I waved at them and ran out of there as quickly as possible before Caroline could kill me.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Tonight was game night. I’ve had that feeling since this morning, but I don’t know why and that was driving me crazy.

“Are you listening?” Caroline finally snapped, walking through the crowd of students in search of Bonnie and Elena.

“Huh? Oh sorry, you were talking about Bonnie?” It was a guess, but she didn’t seem to be _too_ angry so I was probably right.

“Yeah, she told me that Elena organized a dinner with her and Stefan yesterday. She approves of him again, by the way, apparently, he’s _charming_ ,” she rolled her eyes and I laughed. “And guess what? Gwen and Damon showed up. Stefan wasn’t really happy about that. And Gwen was a bitch. I mean, I don’t especially love her but, usually, she’s not a _total_ bitch.”

“Damon probably compelled her to piss off his brother.” 

“You think? That’s twisted. Oh, here’s Elena,” she froze with a frown, and I looked at Elena to see what was up. Oh uh… Elena wasn’t in her uniform… “Oh no. No, no, no. She is _not_ doing that to _me_.” 

Caroline walked toward Elena with determination and I— I walked in the other way, I was _not_ going to be near her when she was going to explode. No way.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“I can’t believe they keep up the Funder’s party despite Tanner’s death,” Bonnie said, taking a sip from her soda.

She, Caroline, and I were at the Grill for lunch before we had to prepare ourselves for the party.

“It’s Mystic Falls, it seems like they live for those events,” I shared a look with Care, before adding, “and they caught the mountain lion that attacked Tanner so…”

“Yeah…”

“So… You told your Grams about those numbers?” I asked innocently, I wanted to know if she believed the witch thing or not yet.

“You’re crazy? She’ll tell me something about witch again! This thing freaked me out already, I won’t be adding to it.”

I was going to reply when a fourth person sat at our table. We all turned to face Gwen with incredulity. What did she- No, scratch that, what did _Damon_ want.

“Hi, guys. Look, I know we’re not close and all but… I saw you sitting there and I told myself: ‘Gwen, you can’t just stay silent!’. I’m not supposed to tell you that but—” she leaned toward us and, somehow, I doubted the fact that she was _not_ supposed to tell us that. “Damon told me something about his brother and I thought that you would want to know.”

“I’m not sure that this is necessary, Gwen, thank you,” I told her, not wanting to play Damon’s game.

“No, I want to know what you have to say,” Bonnie looked at me with widened eyes. Of course, she didn’t understand that she was manipulated.

“Look, there was this girl, Katherine. They both dated her, okay? And then, she chooses Damon over Stefan. Of course, he wasn’t happy about it and that’s when things got screwy,” she looked around her, like not wanting someone to hear her, and I caught myself weirdly curious about her story. “He began to lie to her, made up things Damon never did, manipulating that poor girl until she finally broke up with Damon. The poor thing was devastated, I’m sure he still hasn’t moved on, you know?”

“That’s tragic, really, but that sounds like one point of view here. You know that there is more than one truth, Gwen, right?” I smiled at her with hypocrisy, knowing that she was manipulated by Damon right now.

“If you don’t want to believe me, that’s your call, I just thought that I had to tell you… You know, female solidarity and all that,” she shrugged, standing up and left without another word.

I looked at Bonnie and was dumbfounded when I realized that she was actually considering Gwen’s story. _Seriously?_

  
  


* * *

  
  


The party was in full swing, everyone was dancing or talking. I, personally, was at the buffet, spying on Gwen and Damon. I knew that he had some sort of necklace/stone he needed to take tonight, but I didn’t know when. 

Gwen was dancing with Stefan, probably Damon’s idea, again. And Damon was talking with Elena. He seemed very obsessed with Katherine, that guy. 

“Yeah, I didn't want to push my way in, but I wanted to be there for you,” I suddenly heard from behind me. I turned around to see Logan Fell, the news’ guy, talking with Jenna. “And when I heard you were staying in Mystic Falls, I thought maybe…” I covered my mouth with my hand. Was he trying to get Jenna back? “Well, maybe I could have a second chance to make things right.”

He was! I tried not to laugh, listening to Jenna as she leaned toward him. “Her name was Monica, wasn't it?” Before turning around and letting him there, dumbfounded.

I walked toward her with a big smile. “That was _epic_!” I told her when I reached her. “You’re my hero, Jenna.” 

“God, Claire, I was at that,” she showed me her fingers close to each other, “to tell him yes. I’m weak.” She put her head on my shoulder with a whine. I was pretty close to Jenna, she always acted younger than her age and, I, older and we bonded when she used to babysit us. I was in the first row to witness their ugly break up.

“But you didn’t, not yet. That’s a victory, no?” 

She smacked me on the arm, “stupid girl. I’m going to grab a drink. I need a drink so bad.” She got up and made her way to the bar.

I followed her with my eyes and that’s when I saw Damon and Gwen go down the stairs. Oh, there it is…

When Damon made his way outside, leaving her alone, I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bathroom. “Hey! What’s wrong with you?”

“What did Damon do, Gwen?” I asked her with concern, because… she was in this situation because of me, after all. 

“Claire?” I turned toward Elena with surprise. Fuck, I hadn’t seen that she was there. “What are you— Oh my God! What is that, Gwen?!” She grabbed Gwen’s vest, which had moved when I pulled her and put it down. I could see her bruised back in the mirror. Again, I feel a pang of guilt at that. She’s hurt because I changed things…

But an image of Caroline with the same bruises drowned that thought easily. I’ll do anything to protect Caroline.

“Is that Damon? Gwen?” Elena asked urgently. 

“No! He didn’t mean to hurt me!” She pushed Elena from her. “Leave me alone! Both of you!” She stormed out of the bathroom, and Elena was not long to follow. I sighed, tired of all this shit.

And that wasn’t even the beginning!

I followed and found Elena threatening Damon outside. When she left, his expression put a dread feeling in my gut. I was afraid for Gwen’s safety and decided to follow him.

I stayed at a good distance when he took her in the back garden. Surely that he wasn’t planning to kill her— Not in the back garden of the mayor’s house— Right?

I almost screamed when he bit her in the neck. I stepped toward them, but he was suddenly on the floor, seeming to suffer. Stefan got there and said something about spiking her glass.

Oh, vervain…

He took Gwen’s pulse and disappeared with Damon’s body. I ran to Gwen, taking her pulse. Thank, God, she was alive. “Gwen? Gwen?”

She jumped awake, pushing my hand away. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Gwen, you need—”

“I don’t need anything! I’m fine!” She snarled, arranging her scarf. She stood up and I did the same.

“Gwen, you—” But she cut me again.

“Are you going to leave me alone or not? I’m fine!” She snapped again and finally ran toward the house.

I watched her go, not knowing how to react. I decided to follow her when I walked on something on the floor. I kneel and grabbed it and, to my great surprise, it was a necklace with some sort of brown/yellow stone. Probably Damon’s.

_How interesting._

  
  


* * *

  
  


I parked my car with the other ones, at the high school’s car wash. Paying for a wash was the only way for me to not be the one who did the washing. I smiled at Dana and Gwen when they approached my car. 

“Hey, Claire, we got your car. Your sister is at the cash register, over there.”

“Thanks, Dana.” I gave her my keys and took the mentioned direction. 

“Hey, sister of mine, I’m here to give you all my money,” I joked when I sat in the chair by her side. 

“Claire! You came, good. You’re still _absolutely sure_ you don’t wanna help?” She looked at me with her puppy eyes.

“No way in hell,” I told her with a shake of my head. 

I stayed with her for a while, waiting for my car and helping her here and there. 

“Hey, we're out of towels and those shimmy things,” Elena said, some time later. 

“I'll go get some more,” Caroline replied, standing up. “Mind the money.”

“I leave you to it, Elena, I have to get my car back,” I told her with an apologetic smile. 

I found Dana quickly, but she was alone. “Dana? Gwen is not with you?”

“Ah, Claire, here are your keys!” She exclaimed, giving me my keys back. “Gwen left halfway through it, she said something about her boyfriend calling her. I call bullshit on it, the girl didn’t even have her phone.” 

“Her boyfriend?” I asked, blanching at her words. 

“Yeah, it’s what she said. I thought Stefan’s brother was out of town, though,” she shrugged and got back to the car she was washing. 

I got in my car quickly and drove around the school, finding Caroline who was getting out of the main building. 

“Care!”

“They locked the supplies room, how stupid they are? How can I—” 

“Care, Gwen disappeared. She said something about her boyfriend calling her to Dana. Without her phone.”

“What? But I thought Stefan took care of his brother?” 

“Me too,” I looked around, worried. “We need to find her before—” I trailed off, not wanting to finish this sentence. 

“Yeah, I’m coming. They could do without towels anyway.” 

  
  


We didn’t find her and, the next day, she walked through school as if nothing happened. But I knew something was up because they found bodies this morning. 

_’A drug deal turned sour’_ they said, but how _that_ could explain three bodies found _burnt_ in a cemetery? I was sure that it had something to do with Damon. 

Then, Vicki went missing. Matt thought she was on a bad trip, after witnessing the death of her drugs’ buddy in the woods. I wasn’t so sure about that, though. 

I was sure that it had something to do with Damon, too. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


When I saw Vicki walking into the Halloween party besides Matt, disguised as a vampire, I knew what was happening. 

“Sorry, I’m going to see if I can find Dana,” l said to my sister and Bonnie. They just waved me off and I took the direction of the school building, where I last saw Vicki. 

I asked around me, but nobody had seen her and I couldn’t find her. After a while, I finally found her, alone in one of the corridors. 

“Vicki!”

She turned around and looked at me curiously. We used to hang out together when we were kids; when our siblings played together. Our paths separated when she entered high school, and we didn't talk much since then. 

“I know you're a vampire, Vicki.” 

“That’s pretty obvious, Claire,” she said, looking down at her disguise with a smirk. 

“Don’t play dumb with me, Vicki. It’s Damon, isn't it? He’s the one who turned you.” Her eyes widened and I took that as a confirmation. “I’m not here to tell you what to do, Vic. The Salvatores probably tried anyway, right? It's just… We used to be friends, so I wanted to offer something…”

“What?” She asked suspiciously. 

”I know someone, he is like you, he can help you. Teach you how to feed on humans without killing them, how to control your hunger. Maybe he can even search a daylight’s ring for you. But you will have to leave Mystic Falls, he is in England and you will have to go there…”

She frowned and I knew what she was thinking. 

“I know you don't want to leave Matt or Jeremy behind but… Whatever you say, you know you have to learn control. I just wanted you to know that you have another choice; you’re not forced to learn from the Salvatores.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Hey, Jeremy,” Vicki said with warmth, and I could see how important he was to her. “I’m sorry, I had to leave the party before seeing you.”

I looked at her in my rearview while driving. She was sitting on my backseat, on the phone with Jeremy, saying her goodbyes. 

“It’s not really _bad_ , it's just that… I’m sorry Jeremy, I have to go. I can't continue like that, I have to control my life again. And I can't do that if I stay in Mystic Falls,” she said. I could hear Jeremy’s pleading but couldn’t make out his words. “No, you can't come with me. I— I’m sorry Jeremy, it’s something I need to do alone.” She cut the call and looked sadly at her phone. 

“I’m sorry, Vicki.” 

She smiled at me with sadness in her eyes. “Thank you for letting me say goodbye to Matt in person, that meant a lot.”

“How’d that go? He didn't try to stop you?” I asked curiously, looking at her in the rearview. There was still an hour before we got to Richmond, we had time. 

“He did, at first,” she grabbed one of the few blood bags I stole—again—from the hospital, half an hour ago. “But he understood when I told him I needed to take care of my addiction problem. I didn't tell him I’m a blood addict, though,” she stayed silent for a while, looking thoughtful. “And what about the guy you send me to? You told him about me?”

“I called him when you were with Matt,” I said, nodding. I had to convince him to not come back because what Damon did to her only served to convince him that I needed protection. Thankfully, he understood that Vicki needed to be as far from Mystic Falls as possible.

“Tell me more about him, why did he accept to teach me so easily?”

“Enzo… He has a past with Damon, you know, so when I told him he was the one to change you… He was pretty much convinced— Sorry, but it's his story to tell,” I added when I saw her curious expression. “But he was mostly happy to help me. He said he will look for a ring, but he is not sure he will find one.”

“Thank you… I know it’s because of me if we are not friends anymore so— Thanks for helping me, Claire.” She looked through the window, sipping in her blood bag. 

“You’re welcome,” I whispered back, knowing she would hear me. 

“So… How do we do that? I take a plane to London?”

“I’m not sure it’s safe to leave you alone in a plane with hundreds of people, Vic.” I looked at her with an eyebrow raised and she chuckled. “No, you’ll stay at the airport’s motel for a day or two, until Enzo gets there. _Then,_ he’ll take you to London with him. I’m sorry I can’t stay with you until he comes…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, you already did enough.” She put a hand on my shoulder with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Claire.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


I closed the door of my house behind me three hours later, exhausted. 

I was making my way to my bedroom when a throat clearing made me jump. I turned around to face my mother, standing in the doorway of her room. “Mom! You scared me!”

“Can I know where you were, young lady? It’s almost three in the morning!” She said with a frown. 

“Because now you care?” I asked her, astonished. 

She looked hurt for a second but got back to being angry quickly. “Don’t try to change the subject, where were you?”

“I’m not trying to change the subject, I’m just stating a truth. You care about us one time every other week, when you remember you have daughters.” I knew I was cruel to her, but it seemed like the situation touched me more than I wanted to admit. “But if you want to know, before going back to your blissful ignorance of motherhood, Vicki asked me to drive her at the airport.”

“What? You took her? You can’t do that, Claire! You know I need to interrogate her about what happened in the cemetery!”

“I did it. What are you gonna do? Arrest me? Great idea! You can even throw me in a cell beside your office, we will spend more time together, like that.”

I turned around, not wanting to say more things I would regret. A part of me hoped she would storm after me in my room, trying to continue our conversation.

She didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, first, thank for the comments and kudos, I love hearing from you! 
> 
> So, we passed numbers of episodes here... For the curious, if I didn't mention anything, now or in the future, you can assume that it went the same as in canon.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet) for her wonderful work!
> 
> I hope you're alright in those times, guys. Know that if you feel the need to talk to someone, my pm are open on FFNet (Sadly AO3 doesn't have this feature) or you can send me a message on Tumblr: miss-dragonish.tumblr.com
> 
> Stay safe!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish


	7. I'm sorry, Claire.

I found Jeremy at his locker, two days later, and he seemed… _fine._ “Jeremy?” He turned his head toward me with a smile. “You ok? I talked with Vicki yesterday…”

“Yeah, thanks, Claire. I’m fine, I’ll miss her, but I think it’s for the best.” He smiled softly at me and I could only blink at him. 

“Didn’t you… want to go with her?” 

His smile dropped for half a second but it was back quickly. That was eerie, was he really the same kid I heard pleading with Vicki last night?

“I’ve thought about that but I can’t just leave my family behind for a girl. Everything will be fine. I think it’s for the best.”

“O...kay...” I looked at him for a second before shaking my head and turning around. I was starting to walk toward my English class when I fully registered his words. 

Oh, no… She _didn’t._

“Jeremy,” I called after him when I saw him at the end of the corridor. “Sorry if I seem persistent but,” I jogged toward him. “Be honest, what do you think about Vicki’s departure?”

He has this disturbing soft smile again, “I think it’s for the best.” 

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” I smiled at him sadly.

He resumed his walk and I took the direction of my English class again. She did it. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


My last class was History and since my teacher was… Well, dead, I just went home. 

When I was finally alone in my room, I took out my phone and called Vicki. 

“Hey, what’s up? Enjoying yourself?” I asked with fake cheerfulness. 

“Ha. Ha. That’s hilarious, Claire. Enzo is still not here, and I’m stuck in my room because of the sun,” she sighed, and I heard the sound of a fridge door opening. “Thankfully, I still have blood.”

“Enzo should be there by tonight, Vic, I’m sorry that took so long…” Enzo wanted to find a daylight ring _before_ coming, and he had to do a little bit of persuasion to some of his witches’... _friends_. 

“Hey, at least I will have a ring, right?” I could sense the shift in her mood when she talked next. “So… Have you seen Matt and Jeremy?”

And there was the one subject I hoped to avoid, but I knew it was inevitable. “Yeah… Matt was fine, sad but he seemed to understand why you did it. Even if he said he missed you already.” 

I was sure being separated will do good for both of them, though. But that wasn’t the kind of thing she needed to hear right now.

“And… Jeremy?” I heard her nervous tone and my heart clenched because I couldn’t really hide it from her. 

“He thinks it's for the best but—”

“I suspected it, you know,” she cut me before I could finish. “I’m not really girlfriend-material, even more for someone like Jeremy.”

“No, Vicki, you don't understand. He said, and I quote, ’ _I think it's for the best_ ’ three times in our conversation. We talked for five minutes, top.”

She stayed silent while the information made its way. “You think…”

“I think Elena asked someone to compel him. Stefan or Damon, I don't know, but she probably thought he would be happier like that or something, but—”

“She took his feelings away… I knew she didn't approve of me, but I didn't think it was that much,” she laughed darkly. ”Do you know of a way to get rid of the compulsion? It’s not that I want him to _suffer,_ it's just…”

“I’m sorry, Vic, I don't think it can be done…That seemed too strong.”

“It’s okay… Thanks for the news, Claire.”

“You’re welcome… Bye, Vic.” She answered with a vague sound and cut the call. I didn’t even have the time to put down my phone before it rang again. 

“Caroline,” I answered when I saw her name on the phone. 

“Gwen is throwing a party at the Grill! How can she? _I_ should be the one throwing a party at the Grill!”

I couldn’t stop my laugh at her indignation. 

“It’s just a party, Caroline. It’s not a big deal.” 

“We have to go, see what it looks like.”

“Honestly, I’m not in the mood, Care, sorry. I’m just gonna take a bath and watch a movie tonight.”

“You’re no fun, Claire,” she sighed. 

“And my phone is out for the night,” I told her with a chuckle. “If you get drunk, ask Bonnie to take you home.” I cut the phone before she could reply. 

I was so _tired_. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


I was in the woods. How did I end up in the woods? There was fog everywhere around me. It was dark. I didn’t know why I was here, nor where _‘here’_ was. 

Something moved behind the tree. A shadow. 

“Someone is here?” I shouted, voice shaking. 

“You have to destroy it,” a woman answers me with a soft voice, walking out of the woods to face me. “You know he cannot have it.”

“Who are you? How is it possible that I’m here?” I was seriously starting to freak out. 

“My name is Emily Bennett,” she said, and I laughed nervously. She was who, now? “We’re in your head, it was easy to enter; your soul is marked by death.”

“My— What?” I didn’t even know what should’ve freaked me out the most. “What do you want from me?”

“My necklace. You need to destroy it, Damon can’t have it,” she added before disappearing. 

“Wait!”

I woke up in my bed, breathing heavily. After a while, I took the direction of the bathroom and turned on the sink to wash my face. 

And I almost screamed when I saw _what_ was around my neck. I took the necklace off quickly and hid it between the towels. 

_Emily, you’re really scaring me._

I turned off the water and made my way to the kitchen, searching for something to eat. I stopped by Caroline’s room to check if she was back on my way there. 

When I opened the door, I was welcomed with the sight of my sister, sleeping in no other than _Matt Donovan_ ’s arm. Okay…

_That,_ that’s none of my business. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


I had another nightmare, after getting back to sleep. And I saw Emily all day long at school. I kept finding the necklace everywhere; in my locker, in my bag, in my lunch. 

It was driving me crazy so, after school, I took the direction of Sheila Bennett’s house. 

I knocked strongly at the door and she was quick to answer. 

“Claire, child, what makes you call with so much enthusiasm?”

“I need your help,” I stated blandly, showing her the necklace in my hand. 

“Where did you find that?” She said, looking between it and me with shock. She moved her hand toward it but stopped before touching it. 

“Can we talk inside?” I asked, looking around me before shoving back the stupid thing in my pocket. 

She moved her body to let me in but didn’t voice her invitation aloud. _Subtle._

I got in without problems, of course, and sat on the couch, in the living room. When she closed the door and joined me, I took out the necklace and passed it to Bonnie’s Grams. 

“Take it back, I don’t want it.”

She took it almost reverently, “where did you find that, Claire?”

“I took it from Damon Salvatore, at the founder’s party. You know why he wants it?”

“The tomb,” she replied without blinking. 

“Yeah, his deal with Emily. But now, your ancestor’s ghost doesn't want him to have it. She asked me to destroy it, she said she could talk to me because…”

“Your soul is marked by death,” she cut me. 

“You know about that. Of course, you know about that. What does that mean exactly?” I didn’t hide the fear in my tone, I didn’t _want_ to be marked by death, thank you very much. 

“Don’t be so scared, child, reincarnated souls are always marked by death,” she said, taking softly my hand with an amused smile. 

“Tell me, which one of my secrets do you not know about?” I told her, chuckling nervously. 

“I’m sure there are plenty of them,” she said as she stood and grabbed some candles, placing them in a circle on the table. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m going to destroy it,” she said, looking at me from the corner of her eyes as if she was stating something obvious. “If Emily wants it destroyed, she has her reasons.”

“You can’t do that!” I exclaimed and, honestly, I was the first one surprised by the amount of panic in my voice. “Sorry, it’s just… I can’t tell you how, I just know it, but… If you do that, destroy the necklace, you will die.”

She stopped her movement to look at me. 

“What do you mean by that, Claire.”

“You will end up helping Damon anyway, and that will kill you. You need the necklace to do the spell.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll never help him. I stay away from vampires’ business,” she told me with a smile before resuming her work. 

“Mrs. Bennett—” 

“Everything will be okay, child,” she told me, and the candles’ flames suddenly lit up on the table. She put the necklace in the center of it. 

“Don’t do it, please…” I said desperately. I shouldn’t have come, she was going to die if she…

“ _Incendia,_ ” she whispered, and the stone of the necklace exploded. 

* * *

Two weeks later, my phone rang in the middle of the night. It was Sheila. 

“I’m sorry, Claire. I should have listened,” was the only thing she said before cutting the call. 

The next day, all towns knew about the sudden death of Sheila Bennett. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Caroline entered the house upset, closing the front door with a _bang_ before crashing on the couch beside me. 

“Hey, sister of mine. What’s up?”

“I broke up with Matt.” 

“You… What?” Caroline and Matt were together for, like, a month, top. What in hell and heaven happened for them to break up that quickly? “You know what? We didn’t have a sister night in ages, we should do that right now, okay? You, me, my bed, and ice creams.”

“Claire, it’s two in the morning…” She said with an incredulous laugh. 

“And we don’t have school tomorrow, mom is at work, and we have a lot of things we need to share. I know I have.”

“Okay, but you go first!” She relented, following me in the kitchen. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Better begin with normal teenagers’ problems.” 

She looked at me with her eyebrows raised while we went to my room. 

“Of course, because your news are _supernatural-_ related.” 

“Yeah,” I crashed into my bed and looked at her with a guilty look. “I kept a lot of things from you this past month… Sorry?”

“And why did you do that, Claire?” Her tone was accusing and I winced. 

“Because you and Matt— You were in a little cloud. I didn’t want to bother you with all that and ruin your budding relationship. There is nothing we could really do. I don’t want Elena and the Salvatores knowing that we know about them. Not yet.”

“I didn’t need you to ruin my relationship with him, we did that by ourselves,” she pouted, digging violently in her ice cream. 

“What happened exactly? I thought you were on a double date?” 

“Yeah, and it felt like Matt and Elena’s date.”

“Ouch, that hurt.”

“Don’t tell me. But it isn’t meant to be, right? You didn’t see us dating in that show, did you? That surely means that we shouldn’t be together.”

“Caroline, if you want to date Matt, it’s sure as hell not going to be the memories half accurate of a TV show that will stop you. Now… If you can’t date him because he’s still in love with Elena...”

“You see it too!” She turned toward me with hurt in her eyes. “He said she was ‘ _just a friend_ ’ and that she will always be ‘ _important’_ to him. But the truth is that he still loves her…”

“And…”

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “And I’m not going to pass after Elena. Not anymore.”

I took her in my arms and we stayed like that for a while, laying in my bed. “Okay, say it, what the big bad news.”

“Huh… Remember when Vicki left?”

“Yeah, that was like, a week or so before I started dating Matt. What about that?”

“She didn’t leave because of the drugs… She left because Damon turned her.”

“What?!” She half-stood, looking at me with shock. “How that… How can… Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“And for what? You would have told Matt? Keep it secret? You were just at the beginning of a relationship, I didn’t want you to have secrets that big, so soon.”

She sighed and got back in my arms, “fair enough… What else have you in your bag?”

“I’ve been temporarily hunted by Bonnie’s ancestor until I gave the necklace to Sheila, who destroyed it.” 

“O-Kay…” She nodded, looking up at me. “More?”

“Remember when I told you about those vampires in the tomb? Seems like they are out, now.”

“They are…” she sat up and looked at me with a frown. “That, that’s important, Claire! You can’t hide that because you didn’t want—”

“Calm down, Care, I wasn’t going to hide it,” I said, sitting up to face her. “It happened recently. Truth is… It happened with Sheila Bennett's death…”

“Bonnie’s Grams?! What did… She’s a witch, she opened it…” She muttered, remembering suddenly the details. 

“And that was too much for her, she died because of that. I think… I think Bonnie is the one who convinced her to.”

“Oh my God, poor Bonnie! I can’t imagine what she’s going through…” She whispered, putting her hand on her mouth. 

“Yeah, I know… And that’s not even the worse part.” 

She closed her eyes and let herself fall on her back. “I’m not even sure I want to hear it.”

“I’m not sure I want to say it either…” I crossed my arms in front of me, using them as a shield. “It’s almost time for the founder’s day, and the Salvatores are in town… With the tomb open, that could only mean...”

“That it’s almost time for my death…” She whispered, realizing what I was trying to say.

“I’m not letting you be turned if it’s not what you want, Caroline. I promise,” I said, squeezing her hand. 

“I’m not _against_ the idea of being a vampire, but… I don’t think I’m all for being stuck at 17 for the rest of eternity.” She turned toward me with a smile, her eyes surprisingly full of mischief. “The least that I can do is 21, imagine not being old enough to drink for all eternity!”

She laughed and I quickly joined her, breaking the tension. After a while, she turned toward me with serious eyes. 

“What are we gonna do, Claire?”

I sighed before looking into her eyes. “We are gonna go to Dad's house, for his boyfriend’s daughter's birthday. And we will decide what we’re doing next when we get back. It’s not like Mystic Falls is gonna end without us for two weeks, right?”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Well, at least everything was still standing. 

Being at our dad’s had been nice, we had been out of Mystic Falls dramas for a while, but we had to come back. Just in time for Miss Mystic Falls, too. 

“I don’t know why I’m here, I don’t even participate,” I whined at Caroline, standing beside her in her changing room for the contest, in the Lockwood’s house. 

“You’re my moral support. When I think I have to dance with a boring replacement… Just because I was stupid enough to break up with my boyfriend two weeks before the contest.”

“Why? You would have waited if you had remembered the contest?” I punched her in the arm playfully. 

“Well…” She put her finger on her chin like she was seriously wondering it. “No, don’t worth it!”

“But seriously, didn’t you say Matt was going to come anyway?” I’m almost sure she had mentioned something like that. Funny enough, Matt and Caroline stayed close after their break up, so much that I was sure to be the only one who _knew_ that they had broken up.

“Yeah, he was, but he had work and I can’t really make him miss it if we are not a couple anymore… But, anyway, you have to go downstairs or you will miss my introduction!”

”I’m going, I’m going!” I said before leaving. 

“Hey, Jenna! Mr. Saltzman,” I said with a smile. They were standing together in front of the doors. 

“Please, Claire, call me Ric,” he smiled at me politely. 

“Huh, okay, _Ric_ ,” I replied with a smile of my own. 

“So, Claire, Caroline dragged you here?”

“You said it, not me.”

We were cut by the introduction of the girls, and the couples crossed the doors one by one. 

I couldn’t help the smile that twisted my lips when I saw Elena at Damon’s arm. Honestly? I was afraid I changed that. Ann was a _big_ Delena shipper, even when she disliked the girl, and I had seen this scene with her a hundred times already, and I was waiting impatiently to see it for real. 

‘ _The_ Delena scene’, she had said.

“What is she doing with Damon?” Jenna asked from beside me. 

“I have no idea,” Alaric muttered, leaning toward her. 

“Me neither,” I added jokingly, “but, _man_ , I wish I brought popcorn!”

“Claire!” Jenna whispered accusingly, but I knew she was thinking something in the same line. “You love dramas too much, young lady.”

“You think like me Jenna, and you know it… Oh, by the way, we totally need to drink tea together, we haven’t done that in _ages_ , we have so much to catch up on.” 

“Oh yes, it’s been too long! Let’s say the coming Saturday morning, at the Grill?” She asked me with a smile. 

“That’s a date,” I answered as the dance finished, following the crowd inside and letting Jenna with my History teacher; Ric, the vampires’ hunter. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Saturday came quickly, and I found Jenna waiting for me beside her car, in front of the Grill. I hugged her quickly and she sighed

“You’re late.”

“You know I hate waiting, I much prefer when people wait for me,” I replied, only half-joking. That _was_ partly true, in fact. She hit my arm with a smile and we entered the building. 

“I didn’t want to see you just for a tea…” I began when we were both sitting in a booth. “You know that, Jen’…”

“It’s never just for a tea, Claire,” she said, smiling, and I knew she wasn't mad. That was a part of our meeting; we shared a tea when she broke up with Logan the first time, after my first break up, or when my parents divorced. “What is on your heart?” 

Matt was at our table before I could begin, though. “Hey Jenna, Claire, what can I get you?”

“A teapot of Earl Grey and a jug of milk, please,” I ordered and looked toward Jenna, who nodded with a smile. “You really need more tea on the menu, you know?” 

He just smiled indulgently, that wasn’t the first time I said that, and probably not the last either. 

“I will be back,” he said, making his way to the kitchen. 

“Jenna… Have you noticed, lately, how Elena was more…” I trailed off, not knowing how to describe it. 

“Secretive, nervous, lying… Yeah, I have. Why do you ask? Did it have something to do with what you want to say?”

“Well… Yes, it has everything to do with that…”

“I’m all ears,” she told me, looking at me with interest. 

“You will think I’m crazy but… Remember those stories Miranda would tell you about when you were a kid?”

“How do you know about that?”

“My dad used to tell me about them, too. It’s a founding family thing. I guess Miranda took them from Grayson…” I shut up when I saw Matt coming our way. 

“Here are your tea, ladies,” he smiled before going to his next clients. 

“What about those stories? That just horror tales about vampires, Grayson’s ancestors were fantasy writers.” 

“Yeah… The thing is, it’s not just _tales_ ,” I said quietly, looking around if either of the Salvatore were there. Not seeing them, I continue under the incredulous look of Jenna. “Vampires are real, Jenna. And Elena knows about it,” I paused, looking at her but she didn't react. “She chose to hide it from you because she thinks she is protecting you, but I think that it’s not really a protection.” 

She blinked at me, “it’s a joke? Claire, it’s not funny.” She made a move to stand but I grabbed her hand. 

“I swear it’s not, Jenna. I have to tell you, you’re important to me and I want you to be able to protect yourself. It’s like… Being in a room without windows, in the middle of a storm. You don’t know there is a storm, but if it moves a little too close, you’re dead. Vampires are around you, if you don't know that, you can’t protect yourself,” I pleaded, the faded memory of her death turning in my head. 

“You can prove it? It’s not that I don’t trust you, Claire, I do. But this is something relatively… _Unbelievable._ ”

“Right now, no I can’t,” I wasn’t going to bring up Mikael’s video, that was something that won’t get out until the Originals get in town, at the very least. “But you can come with me at my house, and I can Skype a friend of mine who… _is_ a vampire.”

“You’re friend with a…” she stuttered, blinking quickly before sighing. “Why am I not surprised?”

I chuckled at her exasperated tone. “Do you want to go now, or hear the rest of the story first?”

“Because there is more? Okay, you know what,” she took a sip of her tea and added sugar. “What about we finish our tea while you tell me more, and I act like I actually believe you? After that, we will call your… vampire friend,” she shook her head, probably not believing she actually said that. 

So, I told her about Elena and her doppelgänger, about the Salvatores being bloodsuckers, about the secret counsel, and about Alaric and his dead-but-not-really-dead wife. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here is the next chapter! It was almost just sort of explanation but, I swear, it began to move by the end of next chapter! Hope you loved it anyway! Thanks for your kudos and comments, I love hearing from you! Don't hesitate to tell me what you think!
> 
> Stay Safe!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish


	8. I think she jinxed us.

I pulled my car beside the entrance of the hospital, where Caroline and Matt were standing, waiting for me. They quickly got in and Caroline looked slightly upset. Choosing to ignore the tension, I started the drive toward Matt’s house.

Finally, Caroline snapped and turned back on her seat, toward Matt. “I can’t believe you made me call Claire! Tyler could have taken us!”

Matt’s eyes didn’t move from his new plaster cast, “I don’t want anything to do with him, Caroline.” 

She huffed and sat straight again. The rest of the trip was silent, and soon I left Matt in front of his house.

“I can’t with him, I swear. Between that and Bonnie and Elena, I don’t know what to do.” 

“I can’t really help you there…” I winced sympathetically, driving toward the Grill for dinner.

“I’m sure Bonnie is upset with Elena because of the tomb’s business, but it’s not like I can tell her I know about it.”

I looked sideways at her face, her sadness was killing me, and I knew that it was because of me, because I wanted to keep the secret. 

We entered the Grill ten minute later, Caroline's face lit up with a smile when she saw Bonnie, but a frown replaced her smile at Bonnie’s expression. 

“What happened, now?” She muttered, grabbing my arm and walking toward Bonnie’s table. “Hey Bonnie, are you okay? Something happened?” We sat, but the other girl stayed quiet. “Bonnie, you can tell us what happened, we won’t judge you.”

She looked up with guilt in her eyes. “I did something wrong, and I lied about it.”

“What?” I asked.

“To who?” Caroline said at the same time.

“To Elena. I pretended to do something I didn’t really do.”

Oh. I have a really clear idea about what this is all about. Everything turned quickly in my head, and I made a quick decision. “It’s about Jonathan Gilbert’s device, isn’t it?”

Caroline looked at me surprised, but somewhat hopeful, while Bonnie looked shocked, her mouth opening a few times without anything getting out of it. 

“How do you know about the device?” She finally said.

“We know a lot of things, Bonnie. Elena asked you to remove the spell but… You didn’t.”

“That was not right! Grams would have never…” she retorted instantly, forgetting her other questions. 

“True, Sheila always stayed out of vampires’ business,” I told her with a smile, taking her hand. “It wasn’t _good_ to lie to them, Bonnie, but I understand why you did it.”

She looked at me before looking at Caroline. “How long have you known for… All that?”

“A while… I was waiting for you to tell me,” she whispered, her voice broke on the word ‘you’. 

“I— I’m sorry, Caroline, I didn’t want to drag you into this mess…”

“It’s okay, I get it,” she smiled at Bonnie, but I knew she wasn’t _okay_. I squeezed her hand slightly under the table. 

“Umm, Bonnie?” The girl turned toward me, curious. “I would really appreciate it if you don’t tell Elena and the brothers that we know… about all that.”

“Why?” She asked with a frown.

“I don’t really want to answer Damon's interrogations, not yet.” And I wanted to stay out of all the dramas they seem to attract for a little longer. 

“I won’t say anything, but if they ask me I won’t lie,” she said solemnly, looking squarely into my eyes. 

Well, that was pretty hypocritical, but okay. I didn’t say that, though.

“Thanks, Bon,” I told her simply with a smile. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


We were at the Grill, and I hated that. I wanted to be home, hiding Caroline deep into the closet of my room and not letting her out until tomorrow. 

But Caroline was worried for Matt about his fight with Tyler. I can still hear her, ‘ _Breaking up with him doesn’t mean I don’t care about him anymore, Claire.’_

I would have preferred it if you asked me. 

But, yeah. Here I am, listening to the pathetic attempts of my sister to try to convince Matt to talk to Tyler. 

“Oh, God, Matt please, talk to him already. He made out with your mom, he didn’t kill her.” I finally snapped, just wanting to go home. 

“Claire,” she hissed at me, stabbing me in the guts with her elbow. 

“Ouch, not fair. I just said what we all thought,” I muttered under my breath. 

Before anyone could talk, the mayor entered the Grill and rushed to his son. I stood quickly, I knew how the guy treated his son. They whispered at each other and, surprisingly enough, the mayor seemed worried. 

Then he suddenly grabbed Tyler’s arm. 

“Let go of me!”

“Can I help you with something, Mayor Lockwood?” I asked, slipping quickly beside Tyler. He ignored me, the _dick_. 

“Please Tyler; I need you to go home, now. Take your friends with you.”

“Why? What's going on?” Matt asked, worried. 

“I can't explain. All of you need to get home, now.” He looked insistently at his son, pleading. “Please.”

“You know what, what about we all go to our house,” I began with a smile. “I have my car and like that Caroline could continue with her awful plan, right?”

The mayor looked at me, relieved when his son agreed. 

We were all taking the way of the door when I saw her. 

“Care,” she turned toward me curiously. “Take the key to start the car, I will be here in a second.” 

She frowned but agreed, knowing she couldn’t really ask anything in front of the boys. 

I was quickly by her side and grabbed her arm, and she turned toward me with surprise. “Hey, Anna.”

Her surprise turned into suspicion, “I don’t know you.”

“But I do. And I know that the device still works, they will grab you as soon as they can,” I whispered, looking sideways at the deputies standing by the door. 

“How… Why are you telling me?” She stammered with both eyebrows raised and wide eyes.

“I can help you. They know me, I’m the daughter of their boss. They won’t suspect you if you get out of here with me. I could hide you until it’s all finished.”

“Why?” She frowned, her mistrust clear in her voice. 

I just smiled slightly, “I think I have something for saving sad vampires,” _in love with Jeremy_ , I added silently. “But we have to go now.”

She nodded and we took our way out. “Get in the back, Anna. Oh, my name is Claire, by the way,” I sat behind the wheel. “Sorry guys, but I had to get Anna, she is coming with us.”

I pulled the car out while they introduced each other, Caroline looked at me curiously but went with it. We were almost at my house when Anna suddenly screamed, her hands around her head. Matt, who was sitting in the middle, grabbed her shoulders. 

“Anna?! What is happening?!”

“What is that noise?” Tyler asked, looking around him with panic. “Aargh! That hurts!” He grabbed his head with both hands, blood coming out of his ears. 

“Claire! You need to stop the car! Or take us to the hospital!” Matt screamed, leaning forward between the front seats, panic in his voice. 

“I can’t do that,” I stuttered, looking at the deputies who were running around. “We’re almost at my home, okay? I’m sure they’ll be okay!”

“What?! Claire!” Matt began to protest. 

“It’s okay, Matt,” Caroline said, turning toward him. 

“No! It’s not! She’s screaming like she’s possessed and Tyler is unconscious!” He screamed over Anna’s scream of pain. 

“I’ll explain everything, Matt, okay?” I pleaded, trying to concentrate on the road. 

“What is there to explain, Claire?! They need help!”

“Matt, please,” Caroline whispered when I finally parked in front of my house. 

Anna screams stopped and we all turned toward her. Well, except Tyler who was still unconscious. Her vampire’s face manifested briefly and Matt screamed, trying to back away from her and hit Tyler in the process. 

“Thank you, Claire. I owe you one,” she said with a hoarse voice. 

“What are you gonna do?” I asked her, choosing to ignore the dumbfounded expression on Matt’s face. 

“I need to get out of town before John Gilbert finds me. He wants to kill me,” she said with a sad expression. Looks like Jeremy has a gift with girls… 

She looked at Matt with a frown and then grabbed his face, looking into his eyes. 

“Nothing wrong or weird happened in this car, Claire stopped by my house and I got out there,” she said before I could stop her. Matt repeated what she said and she disappeared. 

I shared a look with Care while Matt shook his head. Well, as much as I hate compulsion on friends, that was one less explanation to make.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Mayor Lockwood died. I feel like I should have known, but I didn’t really care much. As cruel as it could sound, I couldn’t let myself feel guilty for every death I can’t stop. 

Right now, the only thing that counted for me was that I succeeded in saving Caroline from her car accident. Hopefully, that would be enough to save her from being stuck at 17. 

We were in Mom’s car, going to the Lockwood’s for the Mayor’s funeral. Caroline took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled at her, trying to be convincing. Worrying my little sister is the last thing I want to do. 

Mom didn’t talk with us, she looked preoccupied. She has been since yesterday, when she got home with Carol Lockwood in tow, looking for Tyler. 

After Anna left, we discovered that her compulsion on Matt also included Tyler’s outbursts. He seemed to think that Tyler was only asleep, and tried to wake him up. When he succeeded, Tyler didn’t mention anything about noises again, and Care and I decided to humor him and did as nothing happened. We spent the night watching movies in the living room. 

That’s how Carol and Mom found us and announced to us the mayor’s death. 

Caroline told me about her idea of what happened when we were alone again, and I felt really stupid for not thinking of that sooner. Logically, if Tyler was affected by the device because of the werewolf gene, his father would probably be too. 

Tyler was standing by the door of his house when we got there. Mom took him in her arms, told him again how much she was sorry before getting into the house to find his mom. I stopped in front of him, looking at him in the eyes. 

“Your dad was a dick, there is no denying that,” I state plainly, Caroline facepalming with exasperation beside me. “But he was your father; I don’t know what it feels like to lose a parent, but I do know you, Ty. You will get back from that in no time.”

I can’t swear it, but I’m sure something akin to gratitude passed in his gaze. 

“Everything she said, except for the dick comment,” Caroline said with a soft smile.

“Thanks, Claire, Caroline.” He nodded at us. Our attention suddenly turned toward the car that was parking in front of the house, letting out none other than Mason Lockwood. “If it’s not the black sheep of the family,” Tyler commented with sarcasm. 

I couldn’t hold back a smile, _sheep_ was the last term I would use to describe Mason Lockwood. Mason looked at us with surprise. 

“No way… Tyler?” He took his nephew in his arms. “And if it’s not the Forbes’ princess themselves, what do you drink in this town? You’re not, like, twelve?”

“First, no one calls us that anymore, Mason,” I told him with a pout. “Second, we were twelve years old like, five years ago.”

“But you still have your wit, Clairedzilla,” he chuckled and ruffled my hair, knowing how much I hated that and his stupid nickname. He turned his attention toward his nephew, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Tyler.”

“Good to see you too, uncle Mason. Mom is inside.” Mason smiled at us and entered the house to find his sister-in-law. I can’t count how many times Mason crashed Jenna’s babysit session before he fled for a surfer’s life. We smiled one last time at Tyler before entering the house. 

“90% sure it’s active,” I whispered to Care, when we were out of earshot, my eyes flying toward Mason quickly.

“Don’t you say… I was beginning to think that we don’t have enough problems already.” I laughed at her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Now, if you could excuse me,” she said before ditching me and walking toward Matt without another word. 

Honestly, sometimes I doubted their rupture, but I knew how much Caroline cared about their friendship.

I walked around for a while, answering to people who talked to me, probably only because of my mom, searching for Jenna, and stealing one or two glasses of whiskey. Or more, I didn’t really count. Then I found Elena talking with Stefan. 

“Hey, princess Gilbert,” I called her jokingly and didn't hold back my laugh at her lost expression. “Sorry, Mason reminded me of those awful nicknames of his. Stefan. We never had the chance to talk much.”

“Uh, yeah, Claire, sorry about that,” he said between his teeth, looking nervously between me and Elena. 

“Don’t be so nervous, Angelius, I won’t eat your girlfriend,” I was trying to make him relax but it didn’t seem to have the wanted effect. Surprisingly, Elena chuckled at my Buffy’s joke. “Anyway, I’m not here for that! Jenna came with you? I have to keep her as far away from Mason as possible before he reminds her of Clairedzilla. I swear, he will never get over one tiny, teeny bite. I mean, I was six years old, for fuck’s sake,” I rambled and, okay, maybe I was a little drunk.

“Sorry, I came alone. But I think she will be here soon,” she smiled, apologetic.

“Oh, okay… I thought she told me she was coming with you. Anyway, I’m going to look out for her, thanks, Elena. Stefan, I think it was our longest conversation… Well, sort of,” I nodded at them one last time and took the way of the front door.

When I got there, I found Jenna entering the house with Jeremy. “Hey, Jenna!” I hugged her, avoiding the food in her hands. “You need to stay far, _far_ away from Mason, Jenna!” I whispered in her ear but, judging by Jeremy’s mocking expression, that wasn’t really a whisper.

“Claire, don’t tell me you’re drunk… Oh god, your mom is here, Claire!” She shoved me into Jeremy’s arms. “Keep her here while I go see Carol, I’ll be back in a second.”

She looked at me as much exasperated as she was amused and went to see the mayor’s widow. Jeremy looked down at me, amused and I frowned. 

“How is it that you’re so tall… Is that why Vicky and Anna loved you? Is that your secret?” 

Surprise crossed his eyes. “How do you know Anna?” 

I thrust my finger into his chest. “That’s because I look out for you, Little Gilbert. I saved both your girlfriends from death, you know? But _shuuut_ , that’s a secret,” I whispered, my index now on my mouth, he needed to understand how the secret was _important_. 

“What do you mean? Anna is alive? Damon said she was in the fire,” Jeremy told me, grabbing my shoulders. 

“ _Shut!_ It’s a _secret_ , Jeremy, do you know _what_ a secret is?” I pouted, he didn't understand anything. “They can’t know that I know, because if they know that I know they would want to know what I know and I know— They know— No, _I_ know— Pffff, I don’t know anymore.”

“Okay, we’ll need to have this conversation another time, because you’re definitely drunk,” he said, looking around him.

“No, I’m not. I wouldn’t— I would have you know that I’m responsible, Little Gilbert,” I said arrogantly.

“No, you’re clearly not responsible, Claire,” Jenna said from behind me. Jeremy gave me back to his aunt, looking at me with a frown before walking toward the next room.

“That’s not cool, Jenna. It’s your fault anyway, if you’d come with Elena, I wouldn’t have to wait for you.” 

She frowned, looking at me curiously. “What do you mean? I came with Elena, she’s outside with Damon. I don’t really approve, not after the kiss they shared yesterday but…”

“Wait,” I cut her, the distress I was feeling sobering me up. “You came here _with_ Elena—” Suddenly, the nervous behavior of Stefan, that I was too drunk to really understand, made sense. “Jenna, I think we have a little big problem.”

Jenna frowned, worry clearly visible in her eyes. I grabbed her hand and took her where I last saw them. They weren’t in the room anymore, but I could see them through the french windows. I turned toward Jenna and motioned the couple with my head.

“Look at Elena, did she change clothes since you came here?”

Jenna looked toward them surprised, probably by my stupid question. “Uh? Yeah, you’re right, she changed. When did she find the time? And clothes?”

“She didn’t… Remember that doppelganger I told you about? Looks like she’s in town.”

I looked back at the couple, just in time to see her stabbing Stefan in the chest with a metal bar. 

“Ouch,” Jenna winced beside me.

What was Caroline saying about problems, again? I think she jinxed us.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The doorbell woke me up less than one hour after we finally fell asleep. I looked at Caroline, my eyes half-open, and sighed loudly. 

“You’re not going, are you ?” We spend most of the night talking about the day’s event and planning our next moves—we’ll probably be forced to reveal our knowledge soon— and we both slept in her bed because I was too tired to go to my room.

She mumbled something, I wasn’t even sure what, and I took that for an answer. Breathing heavily, I made my way to the door, ready to kill whoever was coming over at this time of the night.

I was welcomed with the sight of Elena, sitting on our front stairs and sobbing heavily. “Elena? What’re you doin’ here? You wanna see Caroline?” 

She looked at me with tearful eyes, “oh my God, Claire, I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to— It’s Stefan— He is—” She trailed off, sobbing heavily.

“Oh my, Elena...” Did something happen to Stefan because of the change I made? I grabbed Elena in a hug, ready to comfort her, but was instantly pushed against the wall, Elena’s— 

No. That was Katherine’s hand around my throat, a smirk on her lips. 

“Wrong name, sweetheart. Say something to the Salvatores for me, will you?” 

I tried to push her back, scratching her hand and her arm, but she wasn’t even bothered by it. Choking me with only one hand against the wall, she let her vampire’s face appear, fangs out, and bit into her wrist. She released my throat, grabbing my jaws the next second, and forced her blood into my mouth. 

That took less than a minute but it felt like an eternity. 

“The game is on,” she whispered playfully, her mouth brushing against my ear. 

And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the delay, I have computer problems right now, and it's not pleasant at all! I'm borrowing my sister's but she needs it for school so that's not really a long-term solution. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you loved it! Don't hesitate to tell me what you think! Thanks for the Kudos and comments!
> 
> Stay safe!
> 
> XxxX Miss Dragonish


	9. You were dead!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hi. 
> 
> I’m really sorry for the year-long hiatus. Honestly, the year has been hectic. I’m not going to get into details but, to make it short, it was a mix of family issues, loss of time/motivation to write, and a false alarm with my grandmother’s health. I am so, so very sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter. 
> 
> Even more when you know that chapter nine has been ready and beta’ed (by WinchesterGurl1967 (on FFNet), thank you so much for that, even if I post it just now). Though I’m not sure the end of this chapter is much better… I promise to not disappear again, tho. I’ve got the next chapter almost ready!
> 
> Again, I’m so very sorry. I hope that the chapter will meet your expectations, at the very least.
> 
> Ps: I got back in the previous chapters to re-edit because I noticed that I’ve got a tendency to switch between past and present tense. Oops. Sorry. Don’t be afraid to call me on it, English isn’t my first language and I take every occasion to learn!

I woke up at the sound of the front door closing abruptly. Blinking at the light in the house, I brought my hand to my head. It was the worst hangover _ever_. If I had known what three glasses of whiskey could do… I grabbed my pillow and covered my face with it. Wait—I opened one of my eyes, lifting slightly my pillow and looking around me.

I was in my room but I was sure I fell asleep in Caroline’s. I closed my eyes again, not supporting the sunlight, even though my curtains were closed. How did I end up in my bed?

“Claire?” Caroline’s voice sounded worried.

“I’m fine, Care, don’t worry it’s just a horrible hangover,” I said, reassuring.

“No, you’re not,” she said, her voice breaking, and I heard her beginning to cry. 

I straightened on my bed, looking at her with panic, forgetting all about the pain I was feeling. “Care? What? Why…”

“ _You were dead!_ ” She screamed, her tears rolling down freely on her face. “I found you _dead_ , Claire.”

“What,” I whispered helplessly, not moving my eyes from her, as I finally remembered my encounter with Katherine. “Oh _fuck_.”

“I didn’t hear you coming back,” she said, sobbing. “And when I got downstairs, you were there… Lying on the floor… Dead.” 

“Care… I’m so sorry you had…” I began, but she cut me before I could continue.

“It’s not about _me_ ! Claire, _you_ are dead. Don’t be sorry for me, think about you a little, please!” She walked to the bed and sat in front of me. “You can’t think about me right now, Claire. You have to think about yourself, and what you want to do.”

I frowned at her, trying to understand what she was saying. “‘What I want to do’? What do you mean?”

“You had— You had blood in your mouth, Claire. I know what that means and I— thought about it. If you want to— to not— not finish the transition, I would understand, Claire,” she whispered with more tears in her eyes. “You never said what you thought about—”

“I’m not letting you! Care…” I widened my eyes at her. “As long as you stay with me, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’ll always stay with you!” She cried, hugging me.

I hugged her back until her scent reached me, and for half a second, I thought about drinking from her, before shaking my head and breaking our hug. “I’m sorry, it’s your— Your scent.”

“I’m— I’m so sorry, Claire. That should have been me,” she whispered, looking downward guiltily.

“Don’t say that, Care. I promised you that it wouldn’t happen. The only one responsible is Katerina.” And she will pay for that.

I was so stupid— I _knew_ that she was in town, but I wasn’t careful enough.

“I got that from the Salvatores’,” Caroline said, putting a bag on my bed. I looked up at her with surprise when I saw it was full of blood blags. “Turns out Damon has quite a reserve in his creepy secret dungeon.”

“You _stole_ blood bags from _Damon Salvatore_ ‘s personal reserve?!” I didn’t hold back my laugh at her proud expression. 

“Elena told me the Salvatore brothers were helping her with the Carnival, so I figured they would have some blood bags that they wouldn’t miss.” 

“You’re wonderful, Care,” I told her and she smiled at me, happy. “Oh crap, I totally forget about the Carnival! You should be there, planning or whatever, no?”

She frowned, “I’m not going to leave you alone, Claire. I told Elena you’re sick, she could handle it just fine.”

“You can’t do that, Care. You’re not putting your life on pause because I died.”

“Well, if you ask me, I think that it’s a very good reason to do so,” she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You need me, Claire.”

“I do, Care, you’re right. But if you do that, Mom will think that something is up. And I don’t know how she would react if she learns that I turned...” I told her with a sad smile.

“Oh…” Her arms fell beside her and she looked down for a minute. “Okay… But I’m not going anywhere before you finalized the transition.”

“Yeah, as you wish, princess.” I chuckled, grabbed a bag, and looked at it for a full minute. Caroline sat behind me on the bed and I could feel her hand on my shoulder.

I finally drank, surprised by the wonderful taste of the liquid. Not sure, but I might’ve moaned at some point. 

Sudden pain in my mouth made me drop the bag and it fell on the floor. I absently noticed Caroline picking it up before it could stain my bed, though. 

“Claire? Are you ok?” She asked with worry in her tone.

I couldn’t answer as I whined painfully, pressing my gum to stop the pain. Then it stopped suddenly and I could feel that my fangs were out. I couldn’t really be relieved because, as soon as it happened, I felt all the air in my lungs disappear and my throat contracts.

I touched my throat, my eyes widening with panic. 

_I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! Oh fuck, I can’t breathe!_

_I can’t BREATHE!_

_“Claire! Claire! What is happening?”_ I could hear Caroline, but it was distant.

My brain chose this exact moment to remember a scene from the show; when Elena woke up Elijah in a house where he wasn’t invited. 

I looked painfully toward the window, even with the curtains closed I could see the sun. I couldn't get out of this house.

_I can’t breathe._

“Claire! Tell me what is happening!” I felt Caroline grabbing my face, making me look at her. 

I was probably feeling the same panic I could see in her eyes, my vision blurring, and I couldn't form any words.

_I can’t breathe._

I slowly— _so slowly_ —grabbed her hand with mine, trying to attract her attention to it. I felt guilty when I saw tears on her face again. It seemed like I could only make her cry today. 

“Claire?!” She screamed, and I focused on my hand again. 

_I can’t breathe._

It took all my power to hit the ground with my index, before showing her the door of my room. She looked puzzled for a second before comprehension filled her face. “Oh my god!” She screamed. “Come in Claire! Come in!”

The pressure finally left my lungs and throat and I could breathe again. “Oh my,” I stuttered with relief.

We looked at each other for a good second before I burst into laughter, Caroline not long behind me, hiding her face in my chest.

* * *

It was hard, but I finally convinced Care to go full mode despot on the girls, at the Carnival. She was gone for two hours now, and I was lurking around the house, searching for things to do. Because I knew what I _had_ to do, but I didn’t want to. 

I hated hurting the people I love. And even if it was not what I wanted to do, I knew that it was what was going to happen. 

Breathing slowly to gather my courage, I grabbed my laptop and sat on my bed. It turned on quickly, more than ever, and I clicked on Skype, calling Enzo. 

I looked at my face reflecting on the screen, my nervousness was obvious. 

He finally appeared on my screen, smiling slightly. It took time, but Enzo finally accepted that he and Vicki were safer in London than here. And I was going to throw all that out the window. There was no way I could convince him to stay there after what Katerina did. 

I was going to put him in danger, I knew it, but I knew he would never forgive me if I didn’t tell him now. 

“Hey, Claire. You’re not supposed to be at school?” He asked mockingly. 

“We… don’t really have school today. They are organizing a Carnival,” I really wanted to tell him, I did. But the words couldn't get past my mouth. “How is Vicki?” I was stalling, I knew, because I talked to Vicki two days ago. 

“She’s good, she’s slowly acclimating. I didn’t think she would be that good, that fast, with all that drug addiction business, but she really surprised me.”

“Yeah…” I whispered, trying to force the words out. 

“What’s up, Claire? You look on edge, I don’t like it,” he finally said after a short silence. 

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I was definitely on edge, that’s for sure. And fucking hungry, too. 

“Enzo… Something happened yesterday.” I began, stalling again. 

“What?” He frowned, leaning towards his camera. 

“I don’t really know how to say it, I’ll just show you, okay?” I looked at him for a second, gathering all my courage before closing my eyes and concentrating. When I opened them again, my newly acquired fangs were out. 

His eyes widened and he probably dropped his laptop because I was suddenly looking at his floor. 

“ _Claire?_ ” He shouted, getting back on the screen. “How did that happen?! It’s Damon, isn’t it? I knew I should have been there! Where is Caroline? How is she?!” 

“She is fine, don’t worry, she is not a vampire. And no, Enzo, it’s not Damon. It’s actually his ex-girlfriend, Katherine. This bitch is so dead,” I muttered, letting my anger out for the first time since… my death. 

“I will be there as soon as I find a flight,” he said with determination. 

“Enzo…” I whispered, knowing it was a vain attempt. 

“No, Claire, there is nothing you could say that will change my mind and you know it. I don’t know if Vicki will want to come or not, but I’m not staying in London.”

“As much as I hate putting you in danger… Thank you, Enzo,” I told him with a soft smile.

“You’re welcome, Claire,” he said, smiling back. 

  
  


* * *

As soon as the sun was down, I got in my car and pulled out my phone to send a message to Caroline. 

_‘Damon and Stefan are at the Carnival?’_

She responded almost instantly. 

_‘Yep. Just saw them lurking around Mason Lockwood. You think they know something is up with him?’_

_‘Probably. Or they are just paranoid bastards.’_

I sent it and started my car, taking the Salvatore Boarding House’s direction. 

I was so _fucking_ _hungry_ , I already finished all the blood bags Caroline got me this morning. So I decided to go back there, and steal from them again. It was only justice, I was in this mess because of _their_ psychotic ex-girlfriend, after all. 

It wasn’t long before I got there, parking my car in front of the door. Honestly, I didn’t even care about getting caught anymore. 

I walked into the house easily, though. How stupid of them, though. No puppet-human owned the house? Not even Elena? They didn’t even lock the door, for fuck’s sake. 

My thoughts process stopped when I got face to face— _well, more face to back_ —with none other than Jeremy Freaking Gilbert. 

“Why the fuck are you here?” I asked, dumbfounded. He turned toward me, as surprised as me, with a whiskey bottle in one hand and a little vial—full of a clear liquid—in the other. 

“God, are you spiking the alcohol with vervain? Don’t do that!” I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and put it back on the table. “You don’t want to be on Damon’s bad side, kid.”

After what I remembered from our last encounter, there was no need to play stupid with him, I already told him everything he needed to know. He stayed frozen, just looking at me with wide eyes. 

“Well, you don’t look like you’re going to respond any time soon, so I will just carry on with my business.”

I turned on my heel and began to search for the creepy secret dungeon’s entrance. 

“Wait!” He finally said, waking up from his shocked trance. “I have questions for you!”

“I don’t know if I want to answer them,” I said, looking around. 

“What? But what you said, at the mayor’s…”

“I was drunk. A shame, because I had only three glasses,” I muttered. “Aha!” I exclaimed as I finally found the door—not hidden that well, after all. I took the stairs and could hear Jeremy behind me. 

“How did you know about that door? And what you said about Vicki? And Anna? Elena said Vicki was probably dead. And I thought Anna was, too, in the fire…” He was still talking. Did he ever stop?

“Okay, okay. If you swear to not say anything about what I’m about to do, and what I’m about to say, I will tell you everything you want to know. Okay?” I looked at him in the eyes over my shoulder. 

“I swear!” He nodded quickly.

I could see he was just a kid, he was only 15 years old, after all. I stopped at the end of the stairs, looking at him. 

“Well, I call bullshit on Elena. She probably said Vicki is ‘ _probably_ ’ dead because she doesn’t want you to search too deep, not after she compelled you to forget her—”

“You know about that, too?” He cut me. 

“Yep, I figured it out when we talked, two days after Vicki left. You were repeating some crap about _’the best’_ or something like that,” I shook my head and talked toward the first room of the creepy dungeon. 

“Here you are, sweetie!” I muttered when I saw a freezer badly hidden with a rug. I looked around, finding the trash bin I was looking for quickly. Opening my bag, I tossed out all the empty blood bags in it. 

“What the hell?” Jeremy said with shock. 

“Your sister told you about her psychotic doppelgänger?” I asked, looking sideways at him, and he nodded. “She showed up at my house yesterday and turned me into a vampire. Against my will.” 

I’ve no idea why I told him all that, I wasn’t even drunk. Maybe I just needed to tell it to someone who wouldn’t be as affected by the news as Caroline, Enzo or… 

_Oh, god, how do I say that to Jenna?!_

“She what?!” His eyes were burning holes into me, so wide I was afraid they would fall from their sockets. 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m stealing from Damon,” I said, filling my bag with blood bags. “But don’t go snitch on me, I want to see how long it will take them to notice.”

“You what?” 

“Are you broken or something? Anyway, I got what I was searching for. Do you want the answers to your questions or not? Because I’m not staying here.” 

He looked at me, probably torn between coming with me and whatever reason he had to come here trying to spike Damon’s alcohol. The good stuff, too. 

“Ok, lead the way, I’m coming with you.”

I was almost disappointed he chose to come, I wasn’t looking forward to telling him about his girlfriends and why they fled town. 

* * *

My conversation with Jeremy was easier than I thought it would be. In the end, I left him shocked but already processing the news. And now, the sun was back and I was blocked again. 

I was looking at a ray of sunlight passing through the living room’s curtains and, I don't know why, my hand extended, almost independently, toward it.

The pain made me groan. 

The door opened slowly behind me and I moved quickly, to be out of the area of the sun. Caroline and Bonnie entered the house before Caroline closed the door behind them. 

“Hey…” I smiled slightly at Bonnie, I knew that Caroline already told her about me. If she was here, it was good news, right?

“Claire…” She looked at me with pity. 

I hated that. I wanted to tell her, scream at her until my throat bleed, that I didn't need her pity. Yeah, I was beginning to understand that thing about amplified feelings and shits. I breathed, trying to remind myself that I _needed_ her pity. 

She walked through the room, grabbed my arm, and suddenly gasped. 

“Oh god, Claire, I’m so sorry! I should have told you about Katherine…”

“I was stupid, I thought she was Elena…” I looked at the wall behind her, not telling her _how much_ stupid I was. 

“You couldn’t have known! They’re so similar! You… You need help, Claire. I think Stefan could…”

“No. Look, Bonnie, I know Caroline asked you for a ring…” 

“I brought Emily’s grimoire, I’m not sure if I can do it, but I’m going to try,” she told me with a small smile, taking an old book out of her bag. 

“And I’m really grateful, Bonnie, I really am. But I have to tell you now that I will _not_ put on an _‘Edward Cullen’_ act. I don’t want to kill innocent people, but I _am_ going to feed with human blood,” I said, my tone not letting room for arguments. 

“But… You can choose, Claire! You will never have to hurt innocents if you just chose to feed on animals—”

“Feeding on animals is just an accident waiting to happen, Bonnie, and you know it.” 

She looked down at her book with a frown. “I can’t take the risk that you hurt people, Claire. I don’t know if I can make you a ring if…”

“Bonnie Sheila Bennett!” Caroline suddenly screamed, attracting our attention to her. “You’re talking about my sister! You grew up with her, Bonnie. You _know_ her. Being turned didn’t change her, and you know it. In the car, you said the transition probably amplified some of her traits. Tell me, Bonnie, what always defined Claire? Since we’re little kids?”

Bonnie looked at her with a frown. Then she looked at me, her eyes scanning my features, and her face suddenly softened. 

“How much you care about Caroline. Elena and I used to be jealous of her when we were kids. She was lucky to have such a protective and caring big sister. I think… No, I know the transition can’t have changed that.”

“It didn’t,” I said, looking at my little sister with a smile. “I will do anything to keep Care safe.”

“Yeah… I will do it. I will make you a ring. But you need to tell Elena about it,” she said as she sat on the couch and searched through her book. “She needs to know what her psychotic ancestor did.”

“No, it’s exactly what Katherine wants me to do, and I’m not doing anything that bitch wants. And I want to see how long it will take for the Salvatores to understand.”

“What?” She looked at me with surprise, standing up. “Claire! You can’t hide that from them because you want to play—”

“No, Bonnie, I’m not _playing._ If Katherine wants the Salvatore to know that she turned me, this bitch will have to wait ‘til _I_ want them to know, or tell them herself. I’m not a fucking owl, I’m not going to pass on her messages.”

“ _Fucking_ Harry Potter references,” Caroline muttered under her breath. 

I turned toward her with a big smile. “Be indulgent, Care, I _always_ wanted to say that!”

She just glared at me and I laughed at her expression. 

“I really think you should tell them, Claire,” Bonnie said again. 

“Okay,” I breathed, tired of arguing. “Give me a week. I want a week before I have to tell them, okay?”

She looked at me, probably torn. “Okay…” she finally whispered with a grimace. “A week seems good…” She sat again and took her book back. “I have the spell, but we need a lapis lazuli jewelry. I was going to ask Stefan but… well. And I don’t think you can find that in the first sto—”

“I have that,” I told her, taking a tiny lapis lazuli out of my pocket. 

“That’s… not a ring, Claire,” she said curiously. 

“Nah, obviously not. You just need to spell the rock, right? After I will hide it there,” I told her, showing her my necklace. Caroline got it out of my neck when she… found me, and got rid of all the vervain on the metal. “That rock is small enough to fit in the charm, and that’s way more discreet than their rings _tape-à-l’œil.”_

“Oh… I can do that,” Bonnie said, looking at me with a smile. She placed the rock in the sunlight, grabbed her grimoire, and read something in… Latin? Or something like that. After a minute or so, she stopped, grabbing the rock again, and gave it to me. “Done.”

“Already?” Caroline said with surprise. “That’s all? No supernatural wind? No flickering of the lights?” 

“We’re not in a TV Show, Care,” Bonnie said—and Care and I shared a smile. “Magic doesn't always do that sort of thing. This was a relatively simple spell, but if you really want to know if that worked, you have to…” she looked at me and nodded toward the sun. 

Nodding, I opened the charm of my necklace and put the rock in it before re-closing it. Then, I extended my hand toward the sun. This time, there was no pain. With an excited smile toward Care, I opened the curtains and smiled at the sun. 

It was crazy what 24 hours without it can do. 

I turned to see Bonnie and Caroline smiling at me with indulgence. 

“Hum, Bonnie? Sorry, but can you seal that? Make it that I’m the only one who can open it?” 

She raises her eyebrows. “Uh, yes, I think Emily had a spell like that… I will need a drop of your blood, though.”

* * *

Alaric and Jenna were standing awkwardly, face to face in the doorway when I got to the Gilbert’s. He then suddenly got out, followed by Elena and Stefan. 

I didn’t think that seeing Elena would do something to me, but I was wrong. I wanted to kill her on sight, tore her to pieces. She _killed me_. 

But then, I remembered that it _wasn’t_ her, just someone wearing the same face. So, I just smiled. “Hey, Elena. Going somewhere?”

“Claire! Uh, yeah… I’m gonna see some of my biological mom’s stuff… you know…” she stuttered, trailing off awkwardly. 

“Yeah…” I looked at the three men waiting for her in the car. “And Damon is going with you because…”

“He is going with Ric— Emotional support, you know. Stefan is mine and Damon is Ric’s.”

“Yeah…” I whispered again, not convinced. Because Damon was _such_ credible _emotional support._

She just smiled an even more awkward smile and got in the car, waving goodbye at me. 

“Claire, get your ass in there, I already did the tea,” Jenna said from the door when I didn’t move from my place. Well, finally it wasn’t that hard to get an invitation. 

“Jen’ we have to work on your habits of voicing your invitation,” I said when we were installed in the living room. “You need to be careful of vampires, I told you they need a voiced invitation…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled. “I think I would know it, Claire, if a vampire was at my door.”

“You didn’t,” I whispered, looking down at my cup. 

“What?” She asked with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Something… Something happened, Jenna,” I whispered, not able to hold back my tears anymore. 

Don’t get me wrong, I was _happy_ that Caroline was safe and sound but— My life was suddenly upside down again. I hated that I had to be turned, for Care to be safe. But— I didn’t regret being the one who was turned, not if that let Caroline _choose_. 

But Katerina was going to pay for that. Maybe I was wrong before, maybe death was too merciful for her. 

“Oh my god, Claire…” Jenna walked around the table, grabbing my shoulder. “Are you a..?” I nodded, still crying, and she took me in her arms. “What happened?”

“Katherine,” was the only thing I said. 

“That bitch.”

I cried in her arms for a while and she just stroked my hair and back, not saying anything. It was what I needed, to be honest. 

“What was that awkward scene with Alaric, earlier?” I finally said, trying to change the subject. 

“I don’t know,” she sighed, not commenting on my diversion. “I think he wants to take back on the thing we had but… I wanted him to tell me, you know? That his wife is not as dead as he thought. I mean, he is heading toward her office, that’s not like it wasn’t the moment!”

“He didn’t?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. 

“No, he didn’t. Elena neither. I want to tell them that I know, but I don’t want to put you in the spotlight.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’m gonna tell them, anyway. I want to see if they notice my turning first, though.”

“Really? I want to be there when you do it!” 

I laughed at her enthusiasm. 

“Yeah, I promise I will wait for you,” I said with a smile. “So, how is Elena? Care told me she knows John is her biological father.”

Jenna froze. “John is her— _What?_ ”

I backed away to look at her, “you didn’t… know?” 

_Oops…_

* * *

  
  


I turned in my bed, woken up by a strange feeling, only to find myself face to face with Elena. 

“Elena? What are you…”

She smiled and I understood my mistake instantly. I was standing on the other side of the room the next second. 

  
“Try again, Little Forbes, try again,” _Katherine_ said.


End file.
